Chaos Control: Emeralds Of The Eightfold Path
by TheNighthawk
Summary: Dr. Robotniks new plan rid himself of his Hedgehog problem causes the fracture of one world as it is slammed into a whole new, uncaring universe. Can Sonic, Shadow, Sally, Tails and Knuckles survive in a universe that knows only war and where dark Gods laugh?
1. Chapter 1

**Chaos Control: Emeralds Of The Eightfold Path**

Lightning scarred the sky above Robotropolis, illuminating the normally dark mechanised city. Rain poured down the slick metal surfaces of Dr. Ivo 'Eggman' Robotnik's egg-shaped central control tower. Eggman was not concerned about the storm, in fact, any strikes of lightning hitting the lightning rods placed strategically around the city would increase the power of his critical anti-hedgehog project. Eggman was stood by the window in his observation control room, silhouetted by a console covered in video feeds and blinking lights, looking out at his perfect machine utopia being lit up by the strobe flashes from above. Had he a heart, he might have been moved by the display.

"Snively … Tell me how the experiment has progressed. Delays are no longer acceptable, if the _Hedgehog_ interferes I will hold you personally responsible"

Snively gulped, already sweating profusely, even though he only had good news for his Uncle and master.

"Well Dr. Robotnik, Sir … Your Grandfathers False Emerald that I ... we recovered from the ARK wreckage has now been confirmed to be undamaged, and has responded well to your Power Amplification theories. We are ready to begin the final phase, bringing it in line with the Chaos Emeralds." Snively's whiny nasal voice crackled from a speaker on Eggmans console, Snively himself being hard at work in the main top secret laboratory.

"Excellent Snively, my plan will finally rid me of those meddlesome Freedom Fighters, and I will see the Hedgehog suffer."

"Very good Sir"

"Is the Emerald in the Amplification Matrix Snively?"

"Of course Sir"

"Good, increase it to _Maximum Power!_ "

XXX

 _Falling skies. Twisted land. Curse of the Machine. End of all things._

Knuckles the Echidna's eyes snapped open. The red spined echidna had been sat outside, in front of the Master Emerald Temple on Angel Island, meditating in the sunlight, until the whispers started.

 _Metal Flesh. Lightning Forged. Broken Worlds. Broken Minds._

Knuckles scanned the area, but nothing seemed amiss with the jagged mountains, crystal clear waterfalls, or the verdant jungle around him. His gaze turned back to the temple. Outer wall still intact. Each of the Chaos Emeralds, Blue, Cyan, Green, Grey, Purple, Red, and Yellow, still in place on their pillars in the inner ring. Water still calm. No-one on the steps. Master Emerald, glowing faintly, seemed ordinary. There was _something_ wrong, but he could not work out what it was. He stood slowly, stoically readying himself for conflict, before striding up the temple steps towards the Master Emerald.

 _The Guardian comes. The Guardian hears. The Guardian does not see. The Veil bleeds._

"Guardian?"

Knuckles made an impatient grunt as he started up the steps to the Master Emerald,

"You've got my attention voices, stop wasting my time and show yourself!"

 _Voice without mouth. Warning without form. Future vision without eyes. Patience._

Knuckles had reached the Emerald, indistinct shapes moved within the gemstone. He knew the Emerald could sometimes project visions, but he couldn't make it out.

 _The Changer of Ways. The knowledge of what to come. Clear your mind._

"I don't trust you, but the Emerald … Fine. This is important."

Knuckles sits down on the cold stone of the temple floor before the Master Emerald, staring intently into the green gems facets, slowly letting his mind sink back into a meditative state. He then felt it, there was something wrong with the balance of Chaos energy, it was as if an additional element had been superimposed over the normal flow of energy.

 _The Eightfold Path. HahaHAha. Eighth item of power. haHAHah. Worlds Collide. Hahahaha. Fire, lightning, death. HAHahaha. Destruction hatching from a shell of madness._ Madness. _Chaos. Chaos fractures the World. Chaos, the only force to repair the damage._

The whispers ever present in Knuckles mind, now sounding like multiple voices all whispering not quite in synchronization, echoing, discordant laughter breaking up the short sentences. Instead of being disturbed by this, Knuckles just let it slide off him, uncaring. He would have gotten up in frustration, and found a way to shut the whispers up, but he couldn't look away from the images coming into sharper focus within the Emerald. Scenes of Mobius being torn apart by cataclysmic storms, whole sections of landscape being sucked into swirling vortexes of unreal colours and nightmares. Superimposed over these images was Robotnik laughing maniacally, with an orange coloured emerald clutched in his hands.

XXX

Black and dark red were useful colours to be when hiding in the shadows, especially in this pollution stained landscape. Shadow the Hedgehog stared out across the barren plains between the edge of the forest and Robotropolis. Such wanton, uncaring destruction made his blood boil, today even more than usual. It was clear to Shadow that Eggman was insane, a despotic ruler hell bent on controlling the world, only to watch it choke under his unclean industry.

Shadow didn't hate industry; He was created, and had grown up in, a scientific laboratory in a space station, the ARK, that had orbited Mobius. Almost nothing there was natural, but it was clean and efficient, what Eggman had done was sick, poisonous to its core. The edge of the forest around him, these hardwearing trees and shrubs, were almost stained black by the acrid soot particles in the air. Beyond this corrupted boundary lay a desolate wasteland, stripped bare of anything natural by acid rains and choking smog. Pools of acid and industrial waste, a mixture of oils and dumped chemicals, pool in the areas that used to be lakes and rivers. The land itself scarred and pockmarked with Eggmans experimental tests, some that had just failed, some that the Freedom Fighters had destroyed, or some sad metal shapes of ex-Mobians that had failed in some way.

Shadow struggled to believe that Eggman was related to his creator, Gerald Robotnik, and his granddaughter, the only person Shadow had truly ever cared for, Maria Robotnik. It is why he always thought of the cancer that was Ivo Robotnik as Eggman, Robotnik was a name too good for him. While he had not always seen eye to eye with Gerald, Shadow had understood that he was a good man, and had always tried to do his best for Maria. The ghost of Maria's face hung before Shadows vision for a moment, before he shook his head, clearing it from his mind. He could not dwell on that right now, not them, not what happened, and even though Eggman was somewhat responsible for his continued survival, he would see him pay.

Shadow had been struggling with concentration for the last few hours, something very wrong was going on with the levels of Chaos energy readily available for him to tap into. What could have been the normal drop of power had turned into a sea, making him have to fight not to just drink it all in and accidentally cause damage. If not for his cuffs limiting his absorption rate, he would have already reached critical levels. Not that he had a problem with large scale damage, there just needed to be a reason and a focus for it.

His first thoughts had been that Eggman was setting up another plan to destroy Sonic, and as usual it was affecting him too. However, now he was looking across the desolation towards Eggmans headquarters, he could not sense any definite direction for the increased Chaos energy. The only strange thing he could see was a storm flaring over the city, only over the city. Eggman had probably created a futile weather control device that would likely be broken by the Freedom Fighters before the week was out.

All the lightning arcing off the metal city would make closer investigation dangerous, and with no focus of Chaos power present it would not be a worthwhile risk. He needed to look elsewhere for answers. He needed someone else who would be able to feel the wrongness of the ambient power. As much as it galled him, he needed Sonic. With an irritated grunt he turned away from Eggmans wasteland, dashing off at speed towards Knothole.

XXX

Not a single cloud in the sky, only a light breeze, its a perfect day for running. That said, every day is a good day for running. A flash of blue streaks across the landscape, contrasting with the vibrant green of the grass and the earthy terracotta oranges of the scattered ruins in the Green Hill zone.

Sonic the Hedgehog knew this path better than he knew his own quills, his mind racing even faster than his feet, jumping boulders, dodging hidden pitfalls, smashing through expected mechanised patrols of Robotniks Badniks. This always made him feel alive, his need for speed, a constant force in his mind. That and chili-dogs, they are delicious and gave him plenty of energy for his runs.

"Just over this bridge, bounce up this cliff face, and JUMP! Two heart beats and land on the swing bridge ... land ... Woah!"

Sonic was falling, the swing was out of position. He readied himself to hit the ground safely, but it seemed to be taking an age to drop, his foot was already tapping impatiently against the empty air. Sonic looked to his left, the waterfall he was sailing past seemed to almost be frozen in place, even tiny airborne droplets were hanging in the air, only lazily making their way towards the river below them. How fast was he going? Sonic started to realise something was off. He should have taken nine hundred seconds to get to this point in his daily run from the start in Knothole, now he was really thinking about it he had been going for less than ten, no wonder the swing had been out of position. He must have been traveling around seventy thousand miles per hour. This revelation pleased him as much as it worried him, he had been approaching the speeds he achieved when he had absorbed enough Chaos energy to transform in his golden spined 'Super' form, but how could he have obtained that amount of energy without having access to a Chaos Emerald? Hurriedly he checked his arms,

"Nope, still good old blue,"

Now Sonic was really focused, he could feel the increased ambient Chaos energy. His mind started to race with questions about how this has happened, momentarily causing him to forget about the fall.

 _WHAM!_

Sonic hit the ground with a thud, his breath knocked from him with force. Gasping, he slowly pulled himself to his feet, being careful not to slip, the thin land bridge was slick with water spray from the falls. Falling into the river below would not be good, the blue Hedgehog couldn't swim.

"Oof! Ugh, glad Sal didn't see that ... hey Sal's smart, she'll know what's going on! Alright, back to Knothole, its juice time!"

With a burst of unnatural speed, Sonic sped off back towards home, leaving only a brief burst of water vapour behind him as he broke the sound barrier almost instantly.

XXX

A bright sunny day, hardly a cloud in the sky, it was a perfect day. You could almost forget you were in a war for survival, almost. Tails couldn't really forget though, he had been born the same day as Robotniks takeover, it was the only time he had ever known. He wasn't even a kit anymore, though thankfully having Sonic as a big brother had allowed him to have a semblance of a childhood. He had been getting more responsibilities in Knothole lately, his keen intellect and ability with machines had become significant since Rooter the Walrus had been captured and roboticized last year. Even with Sonic wanting to keep him out of harms way, in times like these being fourteen was too old to be doing next to nothing, and Knothole needed him. Besides, Sonic was way younger when he started being a hero. With his skills he could help his big brother win the war, maybe even save his life. That thought made the twin-tailed fox smile. Sonic had done so much for him, he wanted more than anything to repay him for his kindness and brotherly love.

A clink-spang-thump noise shook him out of his thoughts, that was definitely not a good noise. The young fox was buried, head first and hip deep, into the engine compartment of his red bi-plane the Tornado, working to fix it so he could carry out more aerial reconnaissance missions for the Freedom Fighters. He should really be concentrating on his work instead of drifting into revery. The noise sounded like one of bolts holding a suspension spring had failed, but he, thankfully, had the parts to hand to make the repairs. Ready with a wrench and a palm full of nuts and bolts, he squirmed further into the compartment, glad that he hadn't really grown at all over the last few years. Sally had said it was caused by Robotniks pollution, hopefully that was the only side effect. Eventually he reached the springs, and he had been right, one of them had failed. The takeoffs and landings over the rough surfaces of the clearings near Knothole were pretty bad, it looked like they were jarring things loose again. He really needed to talk to Sally about getting a landing strip built, he had a plan, he just needed to run it by her first.

The suspension spring had uncoiled up and punctured into a collection tank above it. Tails hooked the wrench onto it, preparing to pull it into place, and bolt the shock absorber back down. With a sharp tug the spring came free, rewarding Tails by splattering him with oily black gunk all over his soft orange fur.

"Aw man ..."

Tails sighed as he bolted the spring back into place, maintenance always was messy work. Pulling himself back out of the Tornado, Tails took off the head torch and apron he was wearing, and looked himself over. He was seriously covered in black muck, apart from several orange stripes where head torch had been and the white fur of his chest protected by the apron. If he had been red instead of orange he would almost look like ...

"Nice look kit, hmph, and here I thought you idolised an inferior hedgehog"

Tails practically leapt a foot in the air, he hadn't even heard or noticed the black and red hedgehog stood right behind him.

"Ah! Sh-Shadow!"

Tails spun around, panicking for a moment before his brain caught up enough to realise the edge of sarcastic humour behind Shadows words.

"I ... uh ... hey Shadow. I wasn't expecting you ... here, in Knothole."

"I need to talk to Sonic."

That took Tails by surprise, Shadows face was set in his customary scowl, and his voice was even, so it was hard to tell if he was still joking, but Tails didn't think so, which meant this was serious. Shadow tried to spend as little time as possible around Sonic.

"You do? I mean, sure, but he's out running right now. Can I help?"

Tails's surprise was quickly being replaced by his enthusiastic optimism, only to be dampened by a flat response by Shadow.

"No."

Shadow turned and walked away, talking back over his shoulder,

"When he turns up, tell him he can find me at the power ring pool. I will be waiting."

Tails watched Shadow leave, his ears drooping a little due to Shadows curt answer. Shadows grumpy personality and stand-offish nature made it hard for anyone to be friends with him, though that didn't stop Tails wanting to be his friend. Tails could see that something had happened to Shadow that made him that way, and there was good in everyone right? Well unless it is roboticized out of you, like Robotnik. Tails shook his head, he had drifted off into thoughts again. He should go and find Sally and let her know Shadow was here, and while he was there he could tell her about his landing strip plan!

XXX

"Zat eez it, put more of your spine into of it!"

"Thats 'put your back into it' Sugah, and you could help out here, ya'll know that right?"

"But I am helping. Supervisation eez what eet eez zat I am doing! Besides you are so strong you could lift zat wheel all on your very own"

Sally Acorn sighed with exasperation. She was a Princess, but not out here, here she was just the leader of those opposed to Doctor Robotniks false rule, the Freedom Fighters. In reality very few of them were even adults, and even those of them that were, like herself, Sonic and others, were only adults by months. Then there was Antoine, oldest of all of them by a few years, still acted like he was thirteen. Time to restore some order.

They were performing some major upgrades to Knottholes waterwheel, a sugestion made by Tails earlier in the day. Bunnie Rabbot was helping out with as much gusto as normal, her partially robotisised body giving her the strength of ten Mobians, allowing her to move the huge wheel with very little help. Sally was running the options through NICOLE, her wrist mounted computer, to make sure they put them in place properly, and Antoine was stood around looking important and offering 'suggestions'. Sally could see the look on Bunnies face as she was turned away from Antoine, holding up the massive power-generating wheel. Bunnie looked more exasperated than Sally felt, though she did note the little twinkle in Bunnies eye as the compliment about her strength sank in just a little.

Sally turned to the Coyote in Royal Guard uniform, "Antoine? Bunnie is right, we need more help than just your suggestions. We could use some more counter-balances for the wheel, could you find Tails and ask him for a 'long wait' please?"

Bunnie looked confused for a moment, before realisation dawned on her face, "Sally-gurl, I don' … ooooh … Yeah your right, go get a good long wait Antoine!"

"But of course My Princess, Miss Rabbot, one long weight coming right up, absolument!" With that he dashed off towards where Tails kept the Tornado.

Bunnie levered the wheel into place and grinned at Sally "Quick thinkin' there hun. Sometimes I don' know if I want to jus' hug the cute right outta him or give him a whack."

"Antoine does try hard, Bunnie … too hard" Sally shakes her head, "But he needs to learn to get involved properly. We _need_ his help, we need to have as much strength against Robotnik as possible."

"It'll be alright Sally, he'll get there … eventually" Bunnie looked off in the direction Antoine had run, "Maybe if'n he had more responsibilities he'd be … hey, here comes Tails, he's …" she trails of sniggering slightly. Sally follows Bunnies gaze to see the young kitsune, still in his Shadow like mess.

"Hello Tails what's going on? Is Antoine being a problem?"

"Oh no, I got him tidying my tool shed while looking for the long weights, funny prank Aunt Sally, but I need to tell you two things. First Shadows here, he wants to talk to Sonic, I told him that he wasn't here so he's waiting by the ring pool."

"Hmm … that is worrying, he usually stays as far away as possible, especially from Sonic. What was the second thing?"

Tails eyes lit up as he started to explain his plan enthusiastically. "You know we have been having problems with landing the Tornado, right? Well I had an idea about creating a landing strip! If we start it by Dulcys landing clearing, and clear trees out from there, we can use the trees we remove to build a canopy over the strip so it is still hidden from Robotniks skydrones. That way the Tornado can come down through the clearing and onto the smoother surface. We can even waterproof the canopy and keep the Tornado there. It would save a lot of resources when I don't have to keep repairing the suspension, and any other parts shaken loose in a rough landing." Tails seemed very pleased with himself at the suggestion, his twin tails flicking with excitement.

Sally smiled, Tails excitable nature always welcome in this life time of war.

"Good idea Tails. How will we get all the trees down without it taking a long time and alerting Robotnik?"

"I thought about that! Sonic can spin like a buzz saw and go through a tree trunk like butter! Then with Bunnies help, her strength means that she can catch them easily. If I mark where Sonic cuts through we can keep the stumps level, turn the tree trunks into planks and make the runway platform from them. Then it just becomes routine maintenance keeping the platform level, which should not expend resources, and generate sawdust that could be useful. Just need to run that by Sonic and ..."

As if by saying his name, a blue streak flashed by, immediately doubling back and screeching to a halt in front of them.

"HeySalLil'buddyandyoutooBunnie. SomethingsreallyawesomerightnowI'mgoingsuperfastwithoutbeingsuperImeanIamsuperbutyouknowjustthewaypastcoolkind. IdontknowifyounoticedIwouldhavebeenbacksoonerbuttherewere'ButtniksSwatBotsandIhadtojustsmashthemtheydidintstandachance. Heyareyouevenlistening?You'venotevenmoved. Hello?Hello!"

Sonic was gabbling as fast as he ran, and was now bouncing around waving in the faces of Sally and Tails, who were stood agape, trying to figure out what was going on. Sally came to her senses first.

Sonic couldn't understand why everyone was moving in slow motion, it was like he was running Chaos Control but badly. Sally had started moving quicker, and that had gotten his attention. His pretty childhood friend had tensed like she did when she was attacking Swat Bots. She was coiling, arm raising palm open. Sonic thought it looked like a dance move to some lame slow rhythm music, until a high speed thought passed through his brain,

"She's gonna hit me"

The thought stunned him a little. He could have dodged it, but the strange slow motion hostile action was too surreal for him to take seriously. However when it connected, it was like he'd run into a wall.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"Oh good, Sonic you are back to normal. You were acting hysterical. What was that all about?"

"I was hoping you could tell me Sal. I was going Super fast, but without the ol' hedgehog insano effect. I 'aint complaining about a bit of extra juice, but somethings not right. Got any bright ideas?"

"Shadow!" Sally announces like a proclamation,

"Huh?"

"Shadows here Sonic, he wants to speak to you. He must know what's going on, and it must be important."

Tails chimes in, "Yeah, he wouldn't speak to anyone else,"

"Sounds serious, which we wouldn't expect from Shads at all" Sonic rolls his eyes, but holds up his hands at a glare from Sally "Alright, alright, sheesh, do I at least have time for a chilli dog? I burnt a lotta juice on that run."

"Work before snacks Sonic."

"Aww, Sal! …"

Sallys expression softens and she turns to Tails, "Tails, while Sonic and I go and talk to Shadow could you get a chilli dog for Sonic, at least we will save some time that way."

"Sure thing Aunt Sally!" The Foxes twin-tails swish excitedly, happy to help.

"Extra cheese?" Sonics stomach growls in anticipation, tails grins,

"Extra cheese big bro!" with that, Tails rushes off towards the kitchens, while Sally, taking Sonics hand, leads him off towards the power ring pool.

XXX

They found Shadow stood, arms folded across his chest, gazing down into the clear water to the great ring from which all powers are formed.

"Hey there Faker! What a surprise to see you here. Gotten bored of spending time in Loners-ville?" Sonics voice cut across the clearing. The banter carrying no hint of spite, his tone easy and playful, but it still drew a rebuke from Sally,

"Sonic!"

Shadow turned, arms still folded, and fixed Sonic with a glare for a few heartbeats before swallowing his retort. His glare changed to an imperious gaze,

"Enough, hedgehog. I don't have time for your normal insults. We are both in trouble, and we need to act fast."

Sonic scoffed "Actin' fast is all I do, you aught'ta remember that from all our races." his customary grin started to fade as Shadows words really started to sink in, "What do ya mean 'we're' in trouble? What did you do? Is it Butt'nik?"

Shadow shook his head.

"Not that I could tell. It's about the ambient Chaos Energy, even you can't be stupid enough not to notice."

Sally turns to Sonic, "See Sonic, I told you that is why Shadow would be here."

"Nah, you said he'd know what's going on. Seems like he's as clueless as us."

"No one is as clueless as you Sonic."

"Sorry, what was that? I can't hear you over how awesome I am"

Shadow looked between the two incredulously,

"Enough! Hmpf, Sonic the levels are rising constantly. I don't know how long my limiters will last before the dam breaks, and do you want to be stuck as your yellow version?"

Sonics seemed shaken by the idea, but he tried to laugh it off,

"Ah come on Shads, I'm just faster than normal, none of the old insano-hog."

Shadow looked at him, his expression stern.

"OK, OK, serious-mode. Sheesh, someone has ta lighten the mood."

"Hmpf." Shadow turned his gaze towards Sally, "Princess Acorn, this situation is serious, and it could kill us both, along with countless others. Do you have any suggestion of what we might do?"

While appreciative of his courtesy, Sally didn't want her title out here, causing her to grimace when he used it,

"Unfortunately I don't have the answers, Shadow. However, I think I know who might."

Shadow raised an eye ridge, and looked at her expectantly,

"Knuckles. If there is an issue with Chaos Energy, Knuckles can use the Emeralds to put it right."

"Oh yeah, good idea Sal! Ol' Knucklehead will stop Shads from going Boom!" Sonic said, moving his arms out rapidly in a big circle, imitating an explosion.

"Tails can take us there in the Tornado," Sally continued, ignoring Sonic.

As if by magic Tails appeared, freshly cleaned and carrying a giant hotdog covered in heaped chili-con-carni and a mound of cheese.

"Here you go Sonic" Tails passed the chili dog to the blue Hedgehog, who gulped it down in a single bite with a thanks, "Where are we going Aunt Sally?"

"Good timing Tails! Can you get the Tornado ready for a trip to Angel Island?"

"Sure thing! The last few repairs are nearly done. Should be ready to go in … half an hour?"

"That will be fine, thank you Tails,"

The little kitsune dashed off, his twin tails whipping behind him, almost a blur.

"Half an hour? Alright! Time enough for another chilli-dog!"

A flash of blue shot out of the clearing before anyone could tell him no, leaving Sally and Shadow alone by the water's edge. Sally sighed with frustration.

"And that was his serious mode?"

The rhetorical question got an answer from the serious Black hedgehog.

"Annoying as it is, let him have it. I have a feeling this is going to get worse before it gets better."

Sally looked back at Shadow, was that a flash of concern she saw on his face, before his features returned to stern neutrality.

XXX

Knuckles backed away from the vision in the Master Emerald, the laughter still ringing in his ears, another noise had jerked his attention back to reality. His shoulders were tense; though that was the only concession to emotion his stoic personality would allow his body language to reveal.

He continued to back out of the temple, not allowing himself to turn his back on the Emerald in case the voices or visions had any other tricks for him. Once outside, Knuckles saw the Freedom Fighters Bi-plane coming into land.

Normally he would go to meet them, ensure their purpose here, but this time he would let them come to him. Something was coming, he didn't know what, but he could feel it, taste it in the air, like a storm on the edge of breaking.

Sally, Sonic, Shadow and Tails came rushing from the landing zone towards the temple, towards Knuckles.

"Yo Knux, we've got a problem" Sonic was the first to shout towards the echidna, keeping pace with Sally and Tails, not even a light jog for him.

"I know" The terse reply was all Sonic got from the staunch guardian.

"Knuckles!" Sally tried, "We need your h…"

Knuckles cut across her "Somethings coming!"

There was a blinding flash, as a huge fork of lightning crashed towards Robotropolis. Sonic and Shadow stopped dead. They could feel it, the power emanating from the direction of Robotropolis.

An eighth Emerald!

"No" growled Knuckles, "He's going to upset the balance, going to …"

There was a pulse of light from inside the temple, the Master Emerald flashed as it began to crack.

With the sound like nails on a chalkboard over the sound of tearing meat, reality seemed to rip. A great gash in the sky above the temple yawned open, its raw edges like teeth in a mouth, leading to a realm of madness and unreal colours.

Angel Island began to fracture. Great lumps of earth broke away from the ground and launched themselves into the gaping void. Looking around in horror, they saw similar portals opening all over Mobius, devouring whole regions of the planet.

The seven Emeralds around the fracturing Master rose into the air and scattered, each towards a different portal. Knuckles jumped, trying to grab a hold of one, but it evaded his grasp. Instead of falling Knuckles kept rising towards the maw above them, its edges juddering like mirthful lips, and it was now emitting a sound like a scream laughing. A single eye, red but wreathed in blue fire, stared out of the void down upon them.

Sonic looked ready to go after Knuckles, "Shads, throw me!"

"You're insane!"

"I can Chaos Control and bring him back down"

"Who knows what the Chaos Energies will do to you now! You could die!"

"So could he!"

Shadow turned towards Sonic, but weather to disagree or to help, Sonic never found out as the Island violently broke apart, catapulting them all into the sky rift. Into another world.

 _End of Chapter One._


	2. Chapter 2

NB: For those new to the Warhammer 40000 universe, please bear with me. This chapter will contain unusual and unfamiliar terms and concepts. These and more will be explained in Chapter Three when the characters themselves have a chance to learn it. For now please just allow this chapter to set the scene :)

XOX

The city was in ruins. Bombardment by both orbital and ground Imperium of Man forces had left only burnt out shells and rubble ghosts cloaked in billowing smoke. Most of the inhabitants of the city had been innocent of the crime levelled against them, harbouring Heretics and base-born nascent Psykers.

How many had truly known? None of them, in truth. Only the members of the Cult of Change knew, and even then only one of them was a true native, the rest were born of distant worlds, all drawn to this place by the twisting, unknowable plan of the God of Knowledge and Magic, The Great Changer and Deceiver, Tzeentch. And all of them dead, except one, the native who knew this city better than the back of his hand, all is streets and alleyways, vents, ducts, gutters and sewers.

XXX

Xaphian ran. He ran harder and faster than he ever had. His knowledge was used up, and the kill teams were closing on him. He suspected that they must have a psyker with them, someone who could sense the touch of the warp upon him, able to smell the stink of sorcery.  
His head ached, he had had nothing to drink in hours, and it had been days since he had anything more substantial than a sip of gutter run-off. All the running had made him sweat, he was dehydrated. Thankfully there were so many rats or he'd be hungry too. He had to stop, there was no other choice. He would catch his breath and then fight whatever came for him. His hope was that it was Tzeentchs plan for him to survive, just as he had done during the initial purge.

Xaphian dashed across an open parade square. The central fountain smashed apart by the now wrecked Taurox armoured transport The once beautiful mosaicked walls, depicting the feats of the Great Crusade over ten millennia ago, were smashed apart by gun fire and bombardments. The young sorcerer dived behind a piled mound of rubble, and pressed himself face to face with the mosaic representation of the Primarch Sanguinius. Xaphian chuckled internally as he tried to moderate his gasping breaths.  
"Once again you shelter Psykers, oh creator of the Librarius. Once more to your folly, _Angel_."  
Xaphian knew the truth of the age of darkness the Imperium called the Horus Heresy, when the Emperor's most exalted son turned away from his Father to embrace the light of true Gods. The knowledge had been imparted to him through visions and text granted to him by a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch during the bonding ritual he had partaken in when he had joined the Cult of Change. No more than an orphan boy with a thirst for knowledge and truth, burning to know why the Inquisition had tortured and burnt his parents alive for protecting and hiding him. That had been fifteen years ago, and now he was back home, with more knowledge than he ever would have dreamed of. The veil had been pulled from his eyes, exposing the myriad of lies of the Imperium of Man, and what they would do to keep their oppression of the Imperial Citizens firmly in their control.  
Xaphian knew that the Chaos Gods were cruel, but at least they did not hide that behind a shield of lies, instead they rewarded people for acting in their nature, and giving gifts to those that serve.

His breath now quieted, Xaphian strained to listen for the approaching Kill Team. He fancied he could hear them in the distance. The sound of a voice, distant but closing. He couldn't make out the words but he recognised the rhythm, prayer to the God-Emperor,  
"Corpse-God" Xaphian thought bitterly, "As good as dead for ten thousand years if not for the thousand souls of my kindred a day his survival consumes."  
It would be pleasing to his God to dispose of the preacher and whoever followed him, but he would not act rashly. He would wait them out and ambush them if possible, though he would have to try and hide his mind from whatever witch-seer they had.  
He cleared his mind and focused, summoning his will to shroud his presence and his mind from those searching. He knew a psyker would be able to identify that a psychic power had been used in the area, but he hoped the mask would be good enough that they would not be able to pinpoint its origin.  
He heard them draw closer, they were approaching by the same road to the parade square that he had run down. He wasn't able to judge the distance, that wasn't his specialty.

Suddenly the sky split with a blinding flash and a hideous keening screech. For a moment Xaphian thought a bombardment had begun anew, that was, until he looked up at the smoke choked sky.  
A rift in real space yawned wide and jagged, showing the unreal colours of the churning maelstrom of the Warp. It looked like a portal made by a spacecrafts warp engine during translocation in or out of the Warp, but there was no ship. For the first few agonising moments, nothing came out of the rift. Suddenly it was raining rock and earth and great chunks of masonry.  
A massive section of what looked to be ancient Grekan ruins from the illustrations of ancient Terra, came crashing down in the direction he had heard his pursuers. There was a scream, and then he felt a presence he hadn't even realised was there wink out from his perception.  
"Just as planned," Xaphian thought, mentally quoting one of the many catechisms of his God.  
Free of the psychic tracker, he had to move now, while the confusion of the Warp rift could mask the more mundane methods of pursuit.

His return to movement became perilous almost immediately, the falling earth, crashed to the ground close enough to spray him with gravel and dirt as he ran.  
He ducked down a street, hoping to get back to the sewer system, but to his horror, the street had changed, the buildings either side of where the sewer entrance should be, had caught a direct hit from a bombardment shell. The blast had collapsed buildings inwards, blocking the sewer cover as well as the rest of the street. He made to double back, but he saw that a huge intact grassy asteroid was pushing through the Warp tear right into the path that he planned to run. There was no time to run a different direction, all he could do was to press himself hard against the unexpected cul-de-sac and pray to his dark Gods.

XXX

Everything tumbled and the laughter rang in their ears. The roiling madness around them felt both scalding and freezing at the same time. Sonic thought he saw faces flash past his own as he spun, faces contorted in pain and horror. He also felt like he was fighting his own body, like it was trying to suddenly change from his blue hedgehog form to something else, something less cool, he was sure. He also swore he heard whispers, in the voices of Mobians from his past, but he couldn't quite make them out no matter how hard he strained his hearing against the roar of this mad realm.

Just as he thought his mind couldn't take it anymore, they were out, pressed hard against the grass of Angel Island as it fell out of the skies. The others were with him, even Knuckles although he had entered ahead of them. Sonic shook himself, trying desperately to get his wits back before looking around.  
They were on a large fragment of the island, the rest of it coming out of the portal behind them in disordered fragments. There was even a chunk of the temple still anchored to the ground. Smoke filled the sky around them, but it lacked any familiar landmarks. He had no idea where they were, and from the look on the faces of the others, neither did they.

With an almighty smash the Island fragment hit the ground sending up clouds of dirt, dust and rubble into the already choked air.

For an awful moment Sonic felt as if he had been paralysed, his whole body betraying him, his lungs burning, until he managed a struggled gasping breath, finding that he had only had the wind violently knocked out of him.

"Gah!"

Gingerly the others stood, trying to get their bearings through the cloud of debris. Sonic, recovering quickly, could hear voices, harsh and shouting, but he wasn't surprised, he'd be shouting too if a floating island had fallen on top of him.

"Hey Guys! Come on, there's people over there, maybe they can tell us where we are"

Tails, bedraggled, was the last to pull, himself to his feet,

"Uh … sure … woah," The young fox wobbled unsteadily, "Ugh … how about you go on ahead … I think I might need to sit down again …"

Sonic was already halfway to the edge of their Island shard before he came to a screeching halt,

"No," it was Shadows voice that caused him to stop, "Either we go together or not at all. We don't know what is out there or who is a friend,"

"Aww lighten up Shads, you think Egghead is going to have had this all set up? Or are you just basing the feeling on your normal ability to make friends?"

"Sonic, don't be mean, and besides Shadows right." Sally put in, "We need to be cautious. Even if Robotnik has not got this planned out, doesn't mean there won't be dangers," ever the voice of reason.

"Alright, fine, but let's get going soon, I'm already twitching from standing around"

Knuckles stayed silent observing, but offered a terse shake of his head.

It took a few minutes, but the group was eventually ready to move, and Sonic could finally stop tapping his foot impatiently on the ground. The voices had gotten louder, and the others had noticed them too. Sonic was still convinced the voices were the best place to start, and that's where he lead them, though did concede to go carefully, sticking to the shadows.

They got their first glimpse of the owners of the voices from behind a broken wall and through dispersing smoke.

There were four of them, all humans. The first wore dirty cream coloured robes, festooned in long strips of parchment attached by blobs of red wax. He wore the silliest hat Sonic had ever seen. He was carrying an over large book in one hand and what looked like a chainsaw with a sword grip in the other. At his hip was a large pistol holster. He was reading loudly from the book, his eyes wide and staring, like pearls in chocolate, but Sonic was already bored by his tone of voice to pay the words much mind.

The second was a woman, pale with short cropped brown hair. She was dressed in grey and black combat fatigues and body armour that was unfamiliar to him. She carried a long, thin rifle of some kind.

The third was a man, aged and frail, but still carried a pistol of some sort, along with a long sheet of parchment that a quill pen was automatically scribbling notes onto. He was wearing dusty grey robes, with a pole sticking from his backpack displaying a stylised letter I with an eye in the center of it. A thing was flying over his shoulder, it looked to Sonic like a bizarre mutated and partially robotisised dead human baby with wings. He decided not to look too closely.

The fourth, he wasn't sure of their gender, but they wore a skin tight leather jumpsuit and carried two very sharp swords. At times it seemed hard to look at them.

"They look dangerous," Knuckles commented.

"So do you Knux, at least before you've finished waking up in the morning" Sonic quipped back, "I think we should try talking to them, that one at least likes to talk," Sonic nodded toward stupid hat.

"I agree with Sonic," Sally stated,

"Y'do?"

"Yes, Sonic. If we can avoid a fight, it would be better for all of us."

Before any of them could respond to that, there came a high pitched beeping from the armed group. Leather jumpsuit pulled out a device from chaos only knows where from and muttered something to silly hat, who looked straight at where the Mobians were lurking.

"Come out now and we shall grant you with the Emperor's mercy!" Silly hats voice had turned from dreary rhetoric to stern, sharp command. Authority that Sally would be proud of.

Sonic looked Sally, who nodded, and then stepped out from behind the wall, the others trailing out behind him.

"Uh, hi, guys we …"

"Most disturbing" grey robe muttered,

"Xenos creatures! Men, the God Emperor suffers not their like to live. Cleanse and purify!" Silly hats shouted wildly, abject hate crept into his commanding tone.

"Woah, now hold on …"

There was a whip crack as the woman's gun spat a bolt of red light at Sonic, who only just managed to dodge aside.

"Hey!"

Suddenly he noticed that leather jumpsuit had moved almost as fast as he would and was flying through the air at him.

"Wha'?"

"CHAOS SPEAR!"

"Shadow!?"

The blast knocked leather jumpsuit out of the air, a hole blown clean through them.

"Chaos!? I was wrong! These are no Xenos! They are Daemons sent to protect our quarry from holy purging! Suffer not these damnations brothers! Send them back to the Immaterium! Take the Canticle of Detestation into your hearts and take vengeance for Clade Adept Verak!"

Silly hat, through his mad frothing had dropped his book, that Sonic now saw was chained to him, and drew a large, heavy pistol and fired it in his direction.

The round that came at him was big, and left a trail of flame behind it. Sonic snapped out of the way, but the propelled ammunition sped past him and struck Tails in the shoulder.

Sonic watched in horror as the shell bit deep into his adopted little brothers flesh, then detonated inside of the wound. Gobbets of blood and viscera filled the air, as Tails arm and shoulder were ripped apart by the mass reactive shaped charge, spattering both Sally and Knuckles with gore.

The twin-tailed kitsune whimpered in shock,"Son-?" he gasped before his eyes rolled back, then his legs gave out and he collapsed forward, blood pumping onto the floor.

Sonic gaped, his mouth hung open in shocked horror, the fight forgotten. Knuckles pushed past him, interposed himself between Sonic and the fight. A flash of red was reflected off the smoke, and Sonic heard Knuckles grunt in pain, and smelled singed flesh.

"Sonic! Do something" Sonic heard the words, but he didn't know who said them. Maybe Sally, maybe it was his own voice inside of his head.

He spun round, his face contorted from the slack horrified expression, into pure rage. He fixed silly hat with a cold stare.

"Chaos Control!"

From the others perspective, Sonic became a spinning blur, and a second later the three remaining humans ruptured like overripe fruit. Great saw-blade like gashes opening up on their fronts. As one they collapsed to the ground, dead and unmoving, leaving Sonic stood before them panting, his blue quills slicked with deep red blood.

Sonic's expression changed from the feral rage that had overtaken him, once again turning to horror at what he had done. It was all he could do to slump to his knees and stare at his hands numbly.

"What have I done?"

XXX

Xaphian had watched the fight from a convenient vantage point. He had no idea what these humanoid animals were, but he could feel their power, each one of them were touched by Chaos in some way. In some ways they reminded him of descriptions of the Kinebrach, but they were all simian like, rather than these myriad of creatures.

However it was time to stop musing and time to ingratiate himself with the powerful potential new allies that Tzeentch's plan had put in his path.

XXX

A young adult human in blue robes walked out of the smoke behind them. This one was pale of skin and had black shoulder length hair. His arms were raised, palms towards them in a gesture of submission, but neither Knuckles or Shadow wanted to take the chance, both moving forward to block the newcomers path.

Sally was on her knees trying desperately to staunch Tails' wound with her jacket, and Sonic was still catatonic on the floor by the dead humans, it was up to them to do something.

"You, human," Shadows tone was icy, "Here to die too?"

"On the contrary, those people you fought, they were hunting me too," his tone was easy, deep and warm, unlike the raving tone of the cream robed human, "We can help each other. I can help your friend, and help you get somewhere safe,"

Shadow narrowed his eyes, searching the human for signs of falsehood, "Why should we trust you?"

"If you don't, your friend will die, the bolt pistols mass reactive shell has seen to that. Also, without me you will be stuck in this dead city until the Imperium begins orbital bombardment again."

"Shadow, we're losing Tails, if he can help, let him help!" despite her voice being full of emotion, Sally's commanding tone cut through the air with all the royal authority she could muster.

Shadow raised an eye ridge and turned aside with a grunt, "Fine, but I'm watching him."

The robed man hurried forward, getting to his knees in front of Tails. He held out his hands and began to chant in a language that Shadow didn't recognise, but it sounded old, and the words made his skin crawl.

Tendrils of wispy lightning flowed from the man's fingertips, curling it's way towards the dying form of Tails.

Shadow and Knuckles could feel the flow of chaos energy from him, steady, controlled and powerful.

The vicious wound began to clot and then knit closed. Life began to pour back into the fox, his breathing became more regular and less pained. Tails' eyes began to flutter open, before immediately trying to scurry back from the human looming over him, wincing in alarm and receding pain.

"Be still, Tails is it? I have healed you, but your wounds could still tear a fresh."

"Huh? Wha'? … Wh… Who are you?"

"It's OK Tails, he seems to be a friend" Sally scooted forward, hugging him protectively, "But he has not given us his name yet."

"Hmpf, nor has he told us how he can manipulate chaos energy like that," Shadow added gruffly.

"Ah, my apologies. I am Xaphian, orphan of Hive City Signious Magna, Lorekeeper of the Hidden Historians, this worlds one and only Cult of Change. As for the rest, that's a long story, but I will tell it once we are safe. For now, you can know that I'm a psyker." His words were met with a blank look, "Really? A magi, a sorcerer, a witch, a Warp dabbler, a daemonologist," he grins at the last one, "All the same to me. The Chaos Gods grant me the power to manifest their realm, their will and energy, into the materium, that would be real space to you."

"Your right, this will be a long story,"

"Shadow!" Sallys warning tone gained a grunt and a wave of a hand before the black hedgehog turned to walk towards the blue one, who was still on his knees staring at his hands, "That all sounds fascinating Xaphian. I am afraid we are not from around here. I think we will need more than a little catching up. However, you are right, we need to get somewhere safe first."

Sally turned her attention to Tails, "Are you alright Tails?"

"I … I'm not in pain anymore Aunt Sally, but … my arm …" The kitsunes pained expression was obvious as he looked down at his ruined shoulder, "How am I going to help with only one arm? Or … or build anything or fly the Tornado?" tears started to roll down his face, sobs choking his words.

Xaphian was quick to interject, "While I can not give you your arm back, I do know people who can help. If we can help each other get to the Spaceport, we should be able to reach them,"

That small amount of hope seemed to fill Tails with determination. His expression changed as he buried the shock and sadness, becoming more resolved.

XXX

Meanwhile, Shadow had hoisted Sonic to his feet,

"Come on, we're going,"

"Huh?"

"Leaving. Now."

"I … I killed them …"

"Yes, well done. Very efficient."

"I killed them all Shads …"

Shadow sighed "I know I was there."

"But … That's… That's not me … I … what have I done?" Sonic was shaking,

"You took vengeance for Tails, who is alive by the way. You stopped anyone else getting hurt. You did what needed to be done."

"But …"

"But nothing. Get up, get safe, mope later."

"But …"

Shadow grabbed Sonic by the shoulders and shook him once, "We'll talk through this later. Right now you are going to get your quills in gear, and you are going to help me watch this new human as we get your people out of here!"

"Our people."

"Hmpf, our people," Shadow conceded with a single nod, "Come on." without waiting for a further response, he turned back towards the rest of the group, letting Sonic shakily follow behind him.

XXX

Shortly thereafter Xaphian started to lead the group of sentient anthropomorphic animals back into the ruins. He knew there would be more kill teams out there but he no longer had to fear them. The only thing he had to worry about is how to get his five new companions past the Imperial defences of the Spaceport.


	3. Chapter 3

The road to the Spaceport was a long and treacherous, but not because of the kill teams, who had collectively broken off pursuit. The bombardments had broken open manufactorums spilling chemicals, fuel and radiation into the vast industrial zones around the great transport arterials leading to their destination.

The passage would take days and as such there was plenty of time for Xaphian to tell them everything they needed. The quest for knowledge was greatly pleasing to Tzeentch.

Many thousands of years ago, the human heartworld, Terra, also known as Earth, had taken pushed past its planetary borders and had taken to the stars. Using the three-eyed genetic mutants known as Navigators, humans had cheated time and space by traveling through the Warp, or the Immaterium in High Gothic, the language of Imperial Nobility. The Warp appeared to be a strange mirror dimension of such high energy that coming into contact with it would cause madness and mutation. A Navigators lidless third eye could look upon the Warp and map its currents without going mad. Once the correct protection was found for the space vessels, this travel became the most important form of travel to humanity. It allowed humans to colonise the galaxy much like pilgrims and pirates of the old world, with the Warp as their ocean. However a great storm in the Warp swelled up, trapping pilgrims from the homeworld. The storm blinded the Navigators, and mercilessly smashed apart space vessels. It lasted for five thousand years. In this time humanity fell in on itself, becoming cruel and barbaric and even crueller Xenos races preyed on colonists. This dark period was later called Old Night.

Towards the end of this time a man appeared. He called himself the Emperor; He formed an army and took Terra by force, claiming that only He could lead humanity to peace and enlightenment. He pulled down all of the religions of the old world and said only science was true, putting any who disagreed with Him to the sword.

He was mighty and charismatic, the galaxies most powerful psyker, and most adept genetic engineer. He created super soldiers called Thunder Warriors to help win His battles and pull down thanes and temples. He then cast the Thunder Warriors aside once His plan was complete.

Once the Emperor claimed Terra He sought to take Mars, as the great red planet had become the font of technology, ruled by the Mechanicus, with Tech Priests and Enginseers that could construct all manner of wonders and engines of death.

The terms Tech Priest and Enginseer seemed to confuse the Mobians, so Xaphian explained that the true scientific theory of machines had been lost during Old Night, and as such the wonder of them turned to worship. In this worship it was proved that machines have souls and personalities, and to appease these mechanical spirits the correct prayers, application of oils and incense is just as important as the code wafers that carry their programmed instruction. It also meant any needed 'percussive maintenance' with hammer or boot, carried even more significance. Thus the Tech Priests were the ruling caste and religious leaders of the machine cult, keepers of the protected knowledge of secret technology. The Enginseers were their acolytes and servants, serving as apprentices to their Forge Masters.

Tech Priests also had a view that to become closer to the Machine, they should replace their body parts with bionic alternatives, though never the brain wholly. While the brain could be upgraded with devices to speed thought processes, to remove it entirely would be to make artificial intelligence, which is the biggest evil to the Mechanicus.

The Emperor took Mars by convincing it's people that He was the representation of the Omnissiah, the machine God, by using His psychic powers to 'heal' a broken machine.

With the technological might of Mars behind Him, the Emperor created new super soldiers using his own blood and stolen power. Twenty 'sons' He created, the Primarchs, on the eve of their 'birth' they were snatched from Him, cast through the Warp across the galaxy.

The Emperor had already vowed to reunite the scattered colonies of humanity, so His sights were already set to the stars, but now it was personal. Using the gene samples taken from the Primarchs, He imbued normal men with their power, creating lesser versions of each of them, the Adeptus Astartes, the Space Marines.

With the Space Marines, the Emperor declared a Great Crusade, bringing war to the stars and conquering them for His own.

Eventually He found His sons, though two were lost permanently, whether killed on the Emperor's command or otherwise no one can ever say, it is as if all trace of those lost sons have been erased from history.

The Emperor gave His sons the Space Marines created with their genes and genetically elevated those that served them on the planets that they had been cast to into Space Marines, so that they may continue to be served by the people they had grown up with.

With these eighteen legions, the Emperor continued His Crusade to make Mankind the masters of the stars.

Many human societies that refused the Emperors rule were destroyed, along with Xenos races that the Emperor had engendered hatred and suspicion against; Humanity, in his eyes, was superior to all.

When the end of the Crusade was in sight the Emperor unexpectedly quit the campaign and returned to Terra for a reason He had kept to Himself. He picked his favourite son Horus Lupercal, Primarch of the Sixteenth Legion, the Luna Wolves, to lead the rest of the Crusade as Warmaster and be the first of his brothers.

However, after the Emperor left, Horus and fully half of his brothers discovered that the Emperor had lied, and had manipulated them all. There were Gods in the Galaxy, and they existed in the Warp. The Emperor was gifted with power by these Warp Gods, and that is why He was so powerful and was able to create the Primarchs themselves. However the Emperor betrayed the Gods, refusing to pay the agreed price for his power, instead wanting to use it to convince humanity that He was a God, which, by that point, He may as well have been.

The Gods were angry with the Emperor, and it was they that scattered the Primarchs, allowing them to learn the nature of the universe without their traitorous father to manipulate them.

Horus and eight of his brothers turned against the Emperor, guided by the truth of the Gods and bolstered by their power.

The Galaxy dissolved into civil war as brother fought brother for what they thought to be true.

Horus fought his way back to Terra, and laid siege to the Imperial Palace. During the battle Horus lowered the shields of his warship, the Vengeful Spirit and challenged the Emperor to single combat.

Of course the Emperor came with a small army, led by Horus' brother, the Primarch Sanguinius, Lord of the Ninth Legion, the Blood Angels. The Gods protected Horus from this cowardly tactic and caused the teleportation to go wrong, splitting their forces all over Horus' ship.

Sanguinius reached Horus first, but the Gods had made Horus the Emperors equal and there was no contest. Horus wept to slay his beloved and closest brother, but Sanguinius had been twisted by hatred for him, completely brainwashed by the Emperor.

The Emperor found Horus, but instead of seeing His sons sorrow, all he saw was a traitor and launched an attack that cannot be described on a mortal scale.A battle of titanic proportions followed, both in the physical realm and in the Warp.

In the end Horus was the truer warrior and eventually dealt the Emperor a mortal wound forcing him to the floor. However instead of finishing the fight Horus wept for his father, after all, he had been the closest to Him of all twenty brothers. In spite the Emperor used this display of emotion as an opportunity, and blasted Horus with all His psychic power at once, not only killing His son but also shredding his soul utterly so that nothing was left of his essence in the Warp.

With Horus dead the battle was done and the followers of the Gods quit the battle even when they were on the cusp of victory, such was the heartbreak over the psychic echo they felt when their beloved Warmaster was killed.

The Emperor's body was recovered from Horus' ship by Primarch Rogal Dorn, another of Horus' brothers, leader of the Seventh Legion, the Imperial Fists and the protector of the Emperors Palace. In a fit of utter hypocrisy, they placed the Emperor on an arcane Xenos device known as the Golden Throne, the secret the Emperor himself had been working on. This device stopped the Emperor from dying, even as His body rotted. He lives in death still, over ten thousand years later, but the price of His survival was the souls of one thousand Psykers fed to the machine to be absorbed by the Emperor. Even though He lives, He only talked to his people for a few hundred years before going silent, letting His followers lead the Imperium in His name. The Emperor had got what He wanted, mortals and Space Marines alike abandoned their secular society in favour of worshiping the Emperor as a God, forming a priesthood known as the Ecclesiarchy. Between the Ecclesiarchy and the secret police known as the Inquisition they kept the people of a billion billion worlds oppressed, trapped in ignorance and plundered for all their resources and conscripting as many as possible into their armies.

Meanwhile the followers of the Chaos Gods retreated to the Warp Storm known as the Eye of Terror and rebuilt their forces and learnt more of the Gods. It has been up to them and the followers they find and train to fight for the freedom of the Imperium. One day they will free the Galaxy from the oppression of the Emperor and allow the truth to be found. It is what they had been trying to do for ten thousand years.

Thing were of course more complicated that this brief summary, but Xaphian was sure his new companions would find everything out in time.

The Mobians listened to the portions of his tale during the times they rested, huddled in a place of relative safety.

"This Emperor sounds a lot like our Robotnik," Sally said, "Charismatic but evil. Especially styling himself as the Machine God. In some ways also like the Tech Priests, changing people into robots,"

Normally she would have expected Sonic to have some quick wit to lighten the mood of these grim histories but the blue hedgehog had kept himself quiet, huddled and shaking as he listened. She wanted to comfort him, but there was no time and no privacy to give Sonic the chance to get his thoughts out.

Xaphian interrupted her thoughts with a question, "Who is this Robotnik?"

"A man with a black and mechanical heart and a thirst for power." Sally began, starting the story of her own world.

Mobius was a world of two halves the humans in the North and the Sapients in the South. Of course some of the Sapients had gone North and were a part of their community. Sally knew little of the North, there had never been enough time to learn.

The South had been ruled by her father King Acorn. They had been involved in their own great war, but it was due to their Minister of War, Dr Ivo Julian Robotnik, that they saw peace. Her father had been a great friend to this human and his nephew, Snively, the only two humans there were in the South. Her father had called Dr Robotnik Julian, using his middle name with great affection. Julian had disbanded the army, at the time, it seemed the right thing to do, there was peace and was no need for it but as it transpired it was part of a greater plan.

In secret, Dr Robotnik had constructed an army of Robots alongside Sapients that had been transformed into robot slaves. Those roboticized Sapients likely had stumbled onto Dr Robotniks plans or had been lured there by the good natured portly War Minister.

With no army the Kingdom was quickly overcome and everyone that were captured got immediately converted into Dr Robotniks robot slaves.

Only a handful of them escaped the city, and nearly all of them children. They stayed in the Great Forest finding a hidden clearing that became known as Knothole.

It was in Knothole that the started to strike back at Robotnik, building the place into a home and base, fighting for their freedom.

They found others that had escaped in time, some that joined them and others like Shadow, who had his own story, stayed apart but worked with them on occasion against Robotnik.

At mention of himself, earned a "Hmpf" from the surly black and red hedgehog.

While their war had not lasted ten thousand years, it had lasted most of their lives, and even then they were barely adults, it's all the really knew anymore.

"Then I think we understand each other," Xaphian said, "We both do what we must against an uncaring foe. After the war is done we will rebuild, but all we can do now is fight with the weapons we can."

"Yes Xaphian, I think that is true enough, though I would like you to tell me something. If humanity as a whole has been conditioned to see non-humans as hateful, why do you help us?"

Xaphian smiled wanly, "I have experienced Imperial hatred first hand, and I feel sympathetic. Those who serve the Chaos Gods also want to work with enemies of the Imperium. I will not deny that there will be some amongst us that will not like you just for what you are, but such is human nature. Most will have seen stranger things and will not pay you any ill will, some may even treat you with reverence, touched by Chaos as you are."

"We are touched by your Chaos?"

"You are. It may well be your Chaos too. The Gods are infinite, who is to say that the Materium is the only realm the Warp mirrors? I have certainly seen Warp creatures with animalistic forms, mayhaps they got that from your world."

"That is certainly something to think about. We seem to have much to learn here. Particularly about Chaos," Sally seemed quite eager at the prospect of new knowledge.

"I am sure I can assist with that," Xaphian smiled, enjoying her eagerness, "but for now we have a Spaceport to get to"

XXX

The rift spat them out into cold darkness, alone and with none of the surroundings or Emerald that had been devoured with them.

Sirens were blaring loudly enough to drown out their voices, so they did not even bother trying to talk, as confused as they were at the sudden translocation.

His black eyes adjusting to the darkness, the larger of the two scanned his surroundings. They were in the bowels of some great technological beast. He would have thought it a bunker if not for the metal walls and bulkhead doors, a submarine perhaps, but that thought felt wrong.

His eyes followed an umbilical of wall mounted cables to a standing computer terminal. Swiftly for one so portly, he moved over to the familiar comfort of the machine, and away from the quivering other with him.

The computer lit up easily at his touch, revealing a back-lit black screen and green text. Smiling to himself he tried the first backdoor technique that came to mind before his chuckle was lost to the sirens, the computer opening up to him. What simple fools the owner of this console must be; it was all too easy.

Files, blueprints, documents, and historical records became available to him and he devoured the information quickly, feeding his massive and malevolent intellect.

Suddenly the sirens stopped and dim red emergency lighting flickered on above them.

"Oh this is good, very good. Snively?"

"Y-y-yes, D-dr Robotnik, Sir?"

"Make that Magos Robotnik, Enginseer Snively,"

"I d-don't understand sir,"

"Words Snively, words are important now. We are in a new place, with new customs. I mean to do just as I did with the Acorn Kingdom,"

"Yes sir. I see sir. But what of the hedgehog?"

"I would like to think that we would be rid of that meddlesome rodent, but the universe forever mocks me Snively. We will see that pest again."

"Then what should we do Dr. … I mean Magos Robotnik, Sir?"

" _I_ will take this place in my iron fist and dominate, and you, _you_ will be my servant as always, nephew."

"How generous, sir. What do we need to know?"

"These are a suspicious people Snively. They believe that an Emperor that has been on a life support system for ten thousand years is their God. They believe that technology is akin to religion and that machines are sacred and have souls. The machine-God that they say is the same as the Emperor, they call it the Omnissiah. This is too good Snively, too good. They will think us saintly for our ability with machines as long as we make them believe that they are not new innovations, they think innovation a sin. They will only follow blueprints they name as STC's, Standard Template Constructs. These will be easy pickings, Snively." Robotnik began to laugh, Snively joining in a beat behind him.

XXX

Sonic had moved a short distance away from the group, though still well within sight. The others had bedded down, trying to catch some rest amidst the rubble. His eyes lingered on Tails who was curled miserably into a tight ball, trying to hug himself futilely with his only arm. His eyes also passed over the sleeping form of Knuckles and the ugly laser burn wound right over his heart, the wound he had taken when he interposed himself between Sonic and the Imperials.

Sonic felt wretched, guilt and anger warred inside him. He turned away again, looking out onto the ruined plascrete jungle.

Plascrete … just a higher tech concrete, at least that's what he had gotten from the sorcerer's description. All the history and new science was dull to him, he yearned to just run and not look back, but then something worse might happen to his friends. He had instead listened just to keep his mind off his own destructive thoughts.

"Sonic."

He hadn't heard Shadow move up next to him, but there he was.

"Shads," Sonic's voice was dull, without the usual care free tone.

"I said we would talk later,"

"Mmmm," Sonic said noncommittally,

"It gets easier."

"I don't want it to get easier!" Sonic seemed horrified, "Why, how do you do it Shads?"

"You know why. I told you about the ARK … about her,"

Sonic remembered. It was an uncomfortable conversation. Rotor had just been roboticized and Sonic had blamed himself, but it had come down to stopping Robotnik or saving Rotor who was in the trap meant for him. Sonic had isolated himself and couldn't bear to be the hero anymore. It had taken Shadows story to bring him back. They had shared an understanding that evening that had brought them closer, friends perhaps, but they kept up their banter and rivalry.

"Yeah, I guess I do know why. Sorry Shads, this is hard for me," he rubbed the back of his head splaying the quills haphazardly, "But, how'd ya keep going? How do you live with each death?"

Shadows already stern face frowned further, "Like I said, it gets easier. I don't kill without a reason, but sometimes it's required. We are going to find many living enemies here, not just Swat Bots. They have powerful weapons and will not hesitate to use them on us." Out of his quills, Shadow produced the gun that had maimed Tails.

"Chaos, Shads! Why do you have that thing?"

"Why not? We need weapons to protect us, so why not use the enemies' weapons against them? Xaphian took the others; I think we should give them out. I know you can use a sword."

Sonic backed away a step, "I don't want to kill more Shads."

"I know, but you want to protect our people right? It's hard now, but it will be you or them. It is the right thing to do. Remember Tails, remember what they will do if you let them."

"You're … You're right Shads," Sonic was glum but resigned, "But it's not much comfort."

Shadow rested a hand on his shoulder, "I know, but we stand with you. You are not going through this alone." Not like I did, Shadow thought, the face of Maria hanging in his vision for the briefest of moments.

Suddenly Sonic was hugging him. Shadow froze, unsure, and then it was over.

"Thanks Shads."

"Uh … Hmpf, no problem. Use that speed against anyone who comes against us." Shadow turned and walked back to where the others slept, though Sonic could see the Sorcerer's eyes were open and watching him. Sonic turned back to the ruins thinking about Shadows words. He still was not happy about it but he knew Shadow was right, at least for now, he would do what he could for the others protection.

XXX

Robotnik had continued to search the computers files, fixing his plan in his mind. Snively was quivering behind him muttering curses and insults but he pretended not to hear. His nephew had always been resentful but he didn't care, he knew in his black heart what was best, Snively would know that one day, and if not … well, robots can serve just as well.

Eventually Robotnik heard the sound of approaching boots, his enhanced hearing allowing him to know that there were three pairs.

He turned towards the bulkhead doors expectantly, waiting for it to open.

Through the door came two individuals that seemed made mostly of metal and clad in armoured red robes. They both carried large staves with units that gave the bulbous heads a crackling electric field. Robotnik knew them to be Skitarii warriors, bodyguards of the Mechanicus. The third was a smaller individual, completely covered in a flowing red robe with an embroidered emblem of a skull within a cog. This third figure had their hood up, shrouding their face completely, leaving only the faint glow of five greenish-yellow lights at the level where eyes should be. Three long metal armatures extended out of the figures back, one ended in a huge lifting claw, one in a selection of precision tools, and the last in injectors and fine cutting blades.

The smaller figure emitted a burst of noise that hurt Snivelys ears, but Robotnik understood the binary blurt. He kept his features still, betraying no emotions before speaking in reply,

"My apologies Magos for intruding upon your vessel. I regret I cannot reply in the purity of binary, I have not been blessed with the bionic upgrade. I am Magos Robotnik, and the fleshbound one next to me is Enginseer Acolyte Snively."

Another burst of binary,

"I understand, I will submit to your inquiry, though my Acolyte has yet to learn the purity of Binary Cant."

The Magos made an irritated noise before replying in a language they both understood, "Processing … You entered my vessel during Warp travel, such a thing should not be possible, the gellar fields are still in activation, no power fluctuation has been noted. No weaknesses identified. You will explain." The Magos's voice was tinny and flat, as if produced by a speaker unit.

"Warp trickery, Magos. I am both Factor and Forgemaster to Magna Mobius, Robotropilis Civitas. Our world had been under siege by mutants and warp beasts for years before my time. Snively and I were the last bastion of humanity, utilising STC's of my discovery to keep the creatures back. However on the completion of the greatest weapon the STC's had granted me, the Warp creatures unleashed an attack that cast us through a translocation portal that left us here. I can provide data from my inbuilt bionic data feeds if you would be interested for research purposes."

"Processing … Processing … Data not found on colloquial planetary designate Mobius."

"Terran contact was lost during the Great Crusade. Organics continued to hold to the Imperial Creed until only the forge city remained. All remaining followed the teachings of the Ommnisiah, as such the machine spirits protected us for thousands of years and proved that flesh is weak."

"If all followed the Ommnisiah, why was a Factor required?"

"Interface with menials was required, they were not worthy of binary cant or even rudimentary bionic upgrade, yet they were required for too detailed tasked for servitorisation. We were also required to deal with mutants for resources. Distasteful work but required to keep the cogs spinning efficiently."

"Understood, your requirements seem pragmatic and logical. You mentioned STC's?" This was the first time any emotion entered the Magos's mechanical voice. He was eager, hungry for the possibility of lost knowledge.

"I did, such purity of the machine they brought. Such power and might. If you could provide this humble servant of the Ommnisiah aid then perhaps our forges could prosper with my knowledge."

"What aid can this servant of the Ommnisiah offer?"

Robotnik hid a smile, "I need to find the energy source I was working with. With that I can return home and bring the Emperor and Ommnisiahs justice to the heretics there. I can also the provide the Imperium as a whole a new edge against its foes"

XXX

Xaphian handed out the weapons, first a sword to Sonic, "To you Mr Hedgehog, this sword. Be careful with the blade, it has a monofilament edge, invisible and impossibly sharp, as such it has better armour penetration than you'd expect." Sonic took the weapon without comment, though he looked unhappy.

"And to you Princess Acorn, take this," He handed Sally the strange light rifle, "This is a Las-gun. Compact laser technology with a rechargeable powerpack, should be good for forty five shots before needing recharging. There is little recoil so there is no need to compensate. There is little in the way of armour penetration, so it is best to aim for the little armoured areas, either that or try to hit the same spot multiple times."

"Thank you Xaphian. I can't say I have much experience with guns, but I did get some tutoring with my Father a long time ago. I believe I remember much of it."

The sorcerer turned to the forlorn one armed, twin-tailed Fox, "To the brave two-tail, have this," He handed over a smaller version of the gun he had given Sally, "Easy to use one handed, and should be adequate for your protection right now. We will get you something more fitting once we are in orbit."

Tails fumbled to take the gun, almost dropping it, "Thank you … I think. I hope I don't have to use it." His voice was unsure, tinged with the sadness he was trying to supress, and frustration at the lack of dexterity he seemed to have now with only one arm.

Xaphian turned once again, this time to Knuckles, but before he could say anything, the red echidna stopped him, "No. I only need my fists. Trust me; I'm stronger than I look."

"As you wish, I look forward to see that," Shadow was the last he turned to, "Now you already have the bolt pistol, and you have your own Chaos powers. You should be well armed enough, don't you agree?" Shadow gave a curt nod. "Excellent! Well let's assault a spaceport shall we?"

"Are we likely to meet people similar to the one who attacked us last time?" Tails sounded worried.

"Possibly, we might see different types of assassins and probably no Administratum adepts this time. If we are unlucky there might be a Space Marine or two."

"Xaphian, maybe you could give us more information about people we might be fighting. I am sure it is all very ordinary to you, but it is very new for us." Sally commented, sounding equally authorities and curious.

"Very well, but that might take a bit of time. Let us plan our attack for the morning then, and have this time for briefing and preparation." Xaphian sat down on a chunk of ruined statue and began to tell them of the forces of the Imperiums most feared weapon, the Holy Ordos of the Inquisition.


	4. Chapter 4

" _Xaphian, maybe you could give us more information about people we might be fighting."_  
The royal humanoid ground squirrel, Sally, had asked the question, so the sorcerer thought carefully about the answer before giving it. Before he started to speak, Sally had set her wrist-mounted dataslate 'Nicole' to record his words,  
"The Imperium of Man is officially very rigidly divided up into very specific roles, all of which are vigorously and exhaustively used by the 'Holy' Ordos of the Inquisition.  
Firstly, the Adepts of the Adeptus Administratum. These are specialists in knowledge, both scholarly and esoteric, and the keepers and designers of the labyrinthine bureaucracy that keeps the Imperium working."  
"How could these bureaucrats possibly be a threat to us? They don't sound much like defenders." Knuckles put in,  
"Never underestimate the power of knowledge, who knows what obscure reference they might know that could lead to our downfalls. Besides they will still have guns even if they are not the best at using them," Xaphain gave a rueful smile before continuing,  
"Second in the list are the Ecclesiarchs of the Ecclesiarchy. These clerics are fonts of rhetoric and dogma to the Imperial Church, following the teachings of the Lectitio Divinitatus, which was, ironically, penned by the first Primarch to turn to Chaos, Lorgar Aurelian of the Word Bearers. That however is a story for another time."  
Sally seemed very interested in that extra story, but let it slide in favour of the more pertinent information, saying instead, "Yes, we met their like on the road when we first came here. They seem very good at invigorating those they are with,"  
"Better than you know. However they are not without their sordid histories that can be exploited. At one point in Imperial history the Ecclesiarchy got too powerful and tried to wrest the control Imperium from the High Lords of Terra. They lost eventually, but afterwards it was ruled that no man in the Ecclesiarchy would henceforth bear arms. Of course they twisted this law and formed our third faction on our list, the Adeptas Sororitas, the Sisters of Battle. An all-female and totally fanatical band of warriors. Most of them wear powerful powered armour and fight with the best conventional weapons found in the Imperium, and are as good at spouting rhetoric as any Ecclesiarch. They tend to really like fire, and carry the most hatred for anyone not Human or not in worship to the God-Emperor."  
The young one-armed humanoid Fox quivered, "I hope we don't meet any of them, they sound terrifying,"  
"With luck we won't, but if we really want to talk terror, we should talk about the Assassin Clades, our fourth listing. There are seven different types of Assassins, all of which are deployed by the Inquisition.  
Most commonly seen will be Death Cult Assassins, these are highly agile and mostly devoted to close combat. They carry either mono or powered weapons, thus are very effective against armoured opponents.  
Callidus Assassins are highly specialised in stealth and deception. Using a drug called polymorphine they can change their appearance to match identically whatever they will it to be, thus can copy anyone they have seen, including Xenos or Daemons, though they won't be able to copy any supernatural effects.  
Eversor Assassins are awe-inspiring combat specialists, normally kept in stasis and the dropped into battle from orbit. Once released they are pumped full of combat drugs that cause them to feel no pain, have heightened senses, can run faster, fight harder. They are weapons of terror as much as they are effective death dealers, though they can be unpredictable due to the combat drugs. Also, if you manage to kill one, they have a self-destruction switch built into them, which will cause them to detonate with a massive explosion.  
Vindicare Assassins are unparalleled snipers and are rarely found in close combat. They have specialised rifles and pistols that can take rare and special ammunition that can deal with any situation. If they see you before you see them, it will usually mean your death.  
Venenum Assassins are poison specialists, you don't tend to see too many of them in the field, they are usually more political instruments.  
Vanus Assassins are information specialists, they work well in conjunction with other assassins, feeding them the knowledge they need to do their jobs, but are also effective in their own right. They can foster gang wars, or put a law enforcement squad in the right place at the right time. Many of their targets find themselves dead due to ill-fated events or poorly timed operations, not even aware of the hand that truly killed them.  
Lastly there are the Culexus Assassins. These are the true horrors of the Assassins Clades, they are all Pariahs, genetic mutants that not only cast no shadow in the Warp, they literally form a void there, not unlike a black hole in space. The cause of this is because the mutation causes them to have no soul. The Warp is a reflection of emotions and souls, and these Pariahs are so without soul that they devour the soul energy around them. They are most effective against Psykers and Warp Entities, as they are intrinsically tied to the Warp, but they are still very effective against those who are not. They emit a powerful aura of wrongness and fear; they move silently and wear all black apart from an elongated skull mask that looms out of the darkness before their foe."  
The Anthromorphs took a few moments to process all of the information about the assassins,  
"It was a Death Cult assassin that we saw wasn't it?" The black and red hedgehog had his arms crossed, listening calmly with his face set in an angry frown,  
"Ah yes, the one you lanced through with a bolt of warp energy, a 'Chaos Spear' I believe you called it?" Shadow only responded with a nod, "Fine work really. Any other questions about assassins?"  
Sally spoke up again, "Xaphian, do you think it likely that we will meet any of these?"  
"Possibly, we know they have Death Cult here so I would count them likely. As for the others … I would count the Callidus as unlikely, they are performing a purge not an infiltration. With others in the field Eversors are too dangerous. Vindicare are possible, but the Spaceport is quite enclosed, not good for sniper vantage points. I highly doubt Venenum would be here. Vanus are likely, but they will be in orbit, so we won't 'meet' them. Culexus …" Xaphian shuddered, "Gods I hope not, but they know there are unsanctioned psykers here, so they may have taken that precaution."  
Sally nodded slowly, "Well, let's not go looking for trouble and hopefully if there are any in the spaceport we will miss them. Let's carry on with the list."  
"As you wish, fifthly in our list, are the Adeptus Arbites. These are elite law enforcement operatives. They are the total embodiment of Imperial law, harsh and unforgiving. They are deployed against threats to Imperial security and not just a pickpocket or back alley murder. Their usual targets are the followers of the Chaos Gods, routing out their cults and executing them. However they do get other targets, Genestealer Cults, Underhive Gangs that have gotten too powerful, even rogue operatives, anyone the Book of Judgement can be levelled against."  
"Military Police?" Shadow asked, his frown had deepened, he was clearly thinking of something distasteful to him,  
"In a way, though they have no ties to the Astra Militarum. Expect shotgun, shock-mauls and riot shields from them, along with a sheer stubborn bloody-mindedness that will not be swayed."  
Shadow shot a look to Knuckles, "We have experience of that. Who else should we be on the look out for?"  
"Well sixthly but not lastly, are the soldiers of the Astra Militarum. Whether Imperial Guardsman, Stormtroopers, the PDF (the Planetary Defence Force) or members of the Imperial Navy, the Inquisition utilises them all. Taking them from their commanders, either individually or as whole units, the Inquisition commands them to serve. They will all be skilled in the art of war in a myriad of ways, dependant on their homeworld or squad role. Regardless of their diversity they will all be deadly."  
"That all sounds a bit vague Xaphian, how diverse could they really be?" Sally asked,  
"There are billions of worlds under Imperial control and most of them offer troops up to the Astra Militarum as part of their taxation. Each world is different and breeds a different type of person. Inside of the Imperial Guard, there are frontlines men, heavy weapon experts, tank commanders, commissars, snipers, infiltration experts, sappers, rough riders, artillery loaders, vox operators. There are even abhumans there, the diminutive, hairy-footed Ratlings, and the hulking brutes of the Ogryns. If I went into a complete list we would be here until the star of this system fades and burns out."  
"I see what you mean, that is quite diverse. We shall have to examine them on a case by case basis. Thank you for the explanation Xaphian, please continue,"  
"Thank you for listening! Next and seventhly, the Tech Priests. Members of the Cult of the Machine, the Adeptus Mechanicus, are necessary to maintain the Inquisitions equipment, vehicles, ships and machinery. Sometimes they accompany Inquisitors into the field, giving them the benefit of their specialised knowledge. These can be complicated foes as their bionic upgrades will make them much more durable, even when unarmoured and their weapons tend to be more potent and rarer than most you will find. Tech Priests may also bring with the members of their personal bodyguard and army, the Skitarii. Skitarii are bionically upgraded soldiers equipped with the most cutting-edge and restricted weapons in the Imperium."  
"I still find it difficult to believe they willingly submit themselves to Robotisiseation," Tails shook his head sadly, "And worshiping machines too … I mean they are interesting, but we build and control them, not the other way round,"  
"I would not tell them that. For ones that purport to eschew emotions, they do get offended very easily,"  
"I won't, but I have a feeling they won't feel like talking anyway. Are there any others?"  
"There are, half again I am afraid. The eighth of our list are the Sanctioned Psykers of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica. These powerful individuals will be hard to predict. Unlike the followers of Chaos, Imperial Psykers specialise in different and restricted disciplines of psychic power. Some throw fire or read minds, others can stop bullets with their own willpower, some send messages over vast distances, and others can even control the life forces of the body. Every one of them will be dangerous and powerful, even if they are limited by their devotion to the Emperor. Never should they be underestimated."  
"Hmph, You are a psyker are you not?" The black and red hedgehog said, glaring at him,  
"I am, in a way, though I am not sanctioned by the Imperium. I have not been subject to their brainwashing and conditioning, nor have I been psychically shackled to the power of the Golden Throne. I use powers that are too powerful and too unseemly to Imperial psykers, powers that they call sorcery, so that is what I am, a Sorcerer rather than a Psyker,"  
"That all just sounds like words to say the same thing,"  
"Perhaps the nuances are lost on you, but I won't hold it against you," Shadow just grunted in response to that, and without any more interjections Xaphian continued,  
"Ninth in our list, those that have fallen through the cracks of Imperial society. Gangers, Bounty Hunters, thieves and miscreants. Anyone the Inquisition can manipulate and think can be of service. These people will be the most unpredictable of all, carrying knowledge and disciplines from multiple sources."  
"Those seem like the Guardsmen again," Knuckles said.  
"In some ways I suppose that is true. However these ones won't play anywhere near fair. They will have skills you won't find in Guardsmen, skills developed by doing anything to survive. Most will only be loyal to their Inquisitor because the Inquisitor has something over them. The majority of these scum will not enjoy Imperial society,"  
"We might be able to use that if we can find out what is keeping them there," said Sally,  
"We could, but there will likely not be the time,"  
"I think you are right Xaphian, but let's continue, this list is longer than I expected,"  
"It will be done soon, we have only two and perhaps the most important factions left. And so, tenth on the list, the Inquisitors themselves. They could have come from any origin, and be a master of their art. They also have access to knowledge that is forbidden to the rest of the Imperium. They have the power to command anyone into service and the ability to destroy worlds if they wish to, calling Exterminatus down upon them. Unless they are undercover, they tend to be dramatically over-wrought, dressed in black leather trenchcoats, carrying flaming brands and wearing the stylised I with an eye in the centre on a chain about their necks. They are powerful, zealous, oppressive and dangerous. Some Inquisitors, hypocritically and against their own mandate, may use weapons of Chaos, even enslaved Daemons, against their own."  
"Xaphian, how do you fight someone with the power to destroy an entire world?" Sally asked  
"Either you never let them know you are there or you choose your battlefield on a place that they cannot afford to destroy. Many worlds are too valuable for the Imperium to lose,"  
"I am glad that they have at least that much restraint, but who could be more important that the Inquisitors?"  
"Perhaps they are merely equally important, but possibly more dangerous. The last of the list are the Space Marines. The Inquisition can call upon any of the Legions or succession Chapters for support. Space Marines enjoy their own autonomy outside of Imperial control, but refusing the Inquisition could cause disastrous repercussions, as has happened with some of them. The Inquisition tries not to push the Space Marines too much though; an enemy of an entire Chapter of Space Marines is a bad thing to have, so the contention goes both ways. However the Inquisition itself has two sworn Chapters of Space Marines, the Deathwatch and the Grey Knights. The Deathwatch are highly specialised Space Marines, dedicated to destroying Xenos creatures and utilising the best and newest weapons available to the Imperium. The Grey Knights however, are a secret chapter, forbidden to be known by the rest of the Imperium. Every one of them is a psyker, even if they are of little power. They are entirely dedicated to fighting the forces of Chaos and destroying Warp-Entities, that which they call Daemons."

"It is unlikely we will see any Space Marines in the spaceport. I can't imagine the Inquisition would deem a single Chaos Cult that much of a threat. I am actually surprised they sent more than just the Arbites against us." Xaphian finished his description,  
"With all of that against us, is there any hope of us getting to your ship?" Tails asked, his voice was quavering, it was clear that he was scared.  
"The Gods are with us, and I don't mean for us to make a frontal assault, that would be as foolish as it would be suicidal. We shall sneak through, and with luck we won't be fighting anyone, or as few as it won't matter. Besides, between us, we should be able to fight back against most of what could come against us."  
"It will be ok Tails, we won't let anything else hurt you," Sally put an arm around the maimed Fox's shoulder.  
"Ok Aunt Sally, I'll be ok," Tails put on a brave face, though those who knew him well could see straight through it.  
"Well then, let's get some rest, on the morrow, before first light, we will head in" Xaphian concluded the briefing before heading to a dry corner to bed down. Sonic moved to the window of the only remaining intact wall and the others drifted apart to find as comfortable as spot as possible in these ruins.  
After a time, once the others were asleep, Sally got up from where she had settled and went over to where Sonic was keeping watch. He was much thinner, she noted, the past few days had seen little food, but she imagined that it was the stress that had kept him sullen and quiet that was really the cause for the magnitude of his weight loss.  
She rested a hand on his arm, gently and caringly, but it still caused him to jump.  
'Where had his mind been?' she wondered, normally he would have been very attentive.  
"Sal?" He sounded confused,  
"Sonic," Her voice was soft and kind, "I have been worried about you, and there has not been a suitable time to talk,"  
"Yeah … I'm not doin' good Sal," Sonic kept his voice low, so that only Sally could hear him. He was too prideful to actively show weakness in front of anyone but her,  
"I know Sonic, I've missed your easy wit," She looked at her childhood friend with concern, "You have not been yourself."  
"I know, I just …" Sonic looked away for a moment, "It's the killing Sal, I can't sleep. All I see when I close my eyes is the blood bursting from the three of them after I spin dashed. I did that." He looked paler for talking about the memory.  
"You did, but you had to. They might have killed Tails, and could have killed the rest of us, we had no idea what we were up against," Her tone was soothing,  
"I … I know Sal, but … but I can't get it out of my head. I can't move on, and the idea I might have to kill more … I feel ill Sal,"  
Sally stepped closer and hugged him, "We will make it through Sonic. With luck there will be no fighting at all tomorrow, and we can be away from this place. We can get somewhere that we can recover properly."  
Sonic clung to her for a while before speaking, "I hope so Sal. Thanks. I might sleep better tonight," he sounded doubtful, but grateful still.  
"Why not rest now, before your mind can take that comfort away. I'll take the watch."  
"Y'sure Sal?"  
"Yes Sonic, I'm sure. Go on, get some rest," She kissed him lightly on the cheek, sending him on his way, back towards the others. She watched him go, worried and thoughtful. She hoped that tomorrow really would go peacefully, for his sake.

XXX

Robotnik stood on the bridge of the Starship, his eyes glimmering with undisclosed avarice. The bridge was teeming with activity; robed menials scurried from station to station like rats through a laboratory maze. Others were permanently hard wired into the consoles occasionally intoning readouts or acknowledging commands.  
The Tech Priest commanded this vessel and several others in his fleet. He had given himself the designation Explorator Magos Valus Magnetron. The title Explorator meant that he was on a mission to search the galaxy for STC's and bring them back to the Mechanicus' control. He had hit the jackpot when he had found Magos Robotnik.  
Robotnik chuckled inwardly; he knew what happened when you ring the jackpot with his face on the tumblers. However for now he was playing nice, no need to show them his true self just yet, maybe not ever if he could convince them to serve him willingly. Robotnik wanted this ship for himself, and he would do what he could to get it. Then he could dispose of them while they remained blissfully ignorant.  
"Is everything satisfactory Magos?" the Explorator asked him in binary cant.  
"Oh yes. I was admiring the efficiency you have instilled into your crew. It is a shame Snively could not be here to learn from their example."  
"Processing … Your Enginseer is not of sufficient rank to experience the complexity of the control maniple of the star vessel."  
"Oh I am well aware Explorator. I am merely dissatisfied that he has not increased his knowledge and training sufficiently enough to have progressed. There is much he could learn from here. _Such as quiet obedience_." Said Robotnik evenly, muttering the last to himself.  
"I understand. Processing … Lack lustre students are disappointing. Have you considered augmenting his cognitive processes? A cognition implant and an emotive extraction could serve to increase his efficiency."  
"We did not have the factorum facilities to manufacture cognitive upgrades without servitorisation. Snively's intelligence is not his issue, it is his motivation. Perhaps I should fit him with a shock collar like I have seen some of your menials in." The alien words flowed easily from Robotnik; his vast intellect had already absorbed the language and its dialects.  
"Processing … Processing … Potential increase of motivation by application of electro-discipline valued at eighty-six-point-seven-nine recurring percent. An adequate increase. Your suggestion is merited."  
"I was Factor, Forge Master and de facto Imperial Governor of Mobius, such analysis of my subordinates came naturally to me. I can get the best out of my menials no matter if their emotional state is positive or negative."  
"Of course, emotion is irrelevant and a weakness. Shall we adjourn to the planning room to discuss how to track your Power Source?"  
"Yes. I must have it back. Then I will take my vengeance on _the Hedgehog_."  
"Hedgehog? Processing … A small mammal with protective spines from ancient Terra?"  
"Apologies Explorator. It was what we designated the leader of the Warp Entities that assailed Robotropolis, based on its aesthetic. Its true name is too foul to say."  
"Understood. Processing … Daemon names have power, it is right not to say them."  
Robotnik thought it was best to steer the conversation away from his Mobian nemesis "Come Explorator, let us not waste time when we could be discussing plans and schemata."

XXX

The spaceport seemed like it was the only area of the planet that had not been blasted into smoking ruins. Immaculate but plain and uniform buildings stood ready and waiting for use, giant double-headed eagles proudly emblazoned on their walls.  
Xaphian had led them through a sewer system into a disused warehouse and from there into a series of air ducts. The freedom fighters were used to traveling through ducts while sneaking into and out of Robotropolis, in here they felt more comfortable and more at home than they had while here in this new world.  
Through gratings they had seen guards patrolling. They seemed on high alert as they would investigate any slight noise or shadow they did not trust.  
"Where do we go from here?" Sally whispered to the human sorcerer,  
"We follow this path for a time until we come to the barracks. In there we will find where they have the Rogue Trader we need to rescue locked up."  
"What is a rogue trader?"  
"Think of a Pirate or a Privateer from ancient lore. They are official, charismatic traders, usually the head of a wealthy noble family. The one we are after has been sympathetic to our cause for a long time. They have smuggled forbidden history books and artefacts to us for many years. I do not wish to see him harmed merely for ferrying the truth."  
"A sentiment I can appreciate. Very well we can rescue your friend, is it their ship that we will be leaving on?"  
"That is certainly the plan,"  
Shadow broke in at this point, "How can you even know where he is or that he would help us?"  
"The God Tzeentch is the master of fate and he grants his followers the abilities to read the currents of the future. I have seen us find him and our ascent into the void."  
"Hmph, no ones future is certain; I do not trust these visions."  
"You wound me Master Hedgehog. What I say is true, as you will see."  
"I trust him," The red echidna had decided this would be one of the rare occasions he would speak up, "I have seen such visions in the Master Emerald before. I know these sorts of things happen,"  
Shadow grunted, "Fine. Let's get on with it."

Before long they came to a grating that looked down on a door guarded by two, bulky misshapen humans, bulging with muscles. 'Ogryns' Xaphian called them, a type of genetic mutant known for their strength, their lack of intelligence and for their claustrophobia.  
"Behind that door is the barracks, I am sure of it." Xaphain whispered contemplating the next move,  
"Is there any way we can get in without having to attack them?" Sonic asked quietly, clearly uncomfortable with the prospect of violence.  
"I believe so, if we continue to follow the vents, it should double back into the barracks itself. I believe that best; to press an attack now would be to risk an alarm being raised."  
There was a quiet murmur of agreement and so the group pressed on, following the duct until it weaved its way back through the walls into the room they needed.  
This time through the grate they saw a large room, half of which was lined with beds. The other half had the beds all piled up to leave two of the walls free. On these walls, manacles and chains had been hammered roughly into the walls, most of which were empty, but the wall space behind them was smeared with blood and bullet holes. Only one of the sets of chains had an occupant, a man who had once been dressed in richly appointed clothes made of fine silks and velvets, though now were badly soiled and ripped, probably beyond salvaging. The man had shoulder length dirty blond hair, high cheekbones and a well-kept short cropped beard. If it wasn't for the filth, cuts and bruising he would have been described as handsome.  
"Damn the Inquisition. I am sure most of the people they questioned and killed were innocents and even Malachi was a good man despite helping us," Xaphian spoke with a disgusted tone, "Let's get him out of there. Hopefully he has not been damaged so much that he can't fly us out of here."  
With gentle encouragement, the grating came away and the group took turns carefully dropping down onto a bed. Xaphian waited until they were all out into the barracks before turning and swiftly heading over to the chained man,  
"Mal?"  
The mans eyes opened slowly, looking up at the young sorcerer, "That you lad? Got away did ye?" His deep voice was interrupted by a hacking cough, leaving his lips flecked with blood, "Ugh, got used as an Ogryns punching bag, think you could …"  
Xaphian reached out and touched the man on his shoulder and began chanting the same words the spoke when he healed Tails. The walls suddenly began to crust over with a thick frost, and the temperature of the room dropped significantly, but Malachis bruising began to recede and he looked healthier.  
"What was that?" Shadows aggressive tones cut through the room,  
Xaphian straightened and looked over his shoulder, also prompting Malachi to look past the sorcerer at the others. The Rogue Trader raised an imperious eyebrow.  
"Psychic Phenomena. The Warp is a realm of emotion as I have told you before; there is a risk when tapping into the potential of the Warp to manifest psychic powers they will be altered by your emotions as they are reflected in the Immaterium. I must confess I am greatly angered at the treatment of my friend, and that manifested as this hoarfrost. I apologise for my lack of control."  
Shadow just grunted in response, his arms folded over his chest, giving the sorcerer his customary glare.  
"New friends you have there lad? I've travelled all over the galaxy and I have never seen their like. I've seen some damnable odd things I grant you, but never Xenos like this." Malachi cocked his head, looking at the arranged Mobians with curiosity.  
"They are strangers I found in the ruins. They are Warp touched beings from another reality. I believe it is all part of Tzeentch's great plan. I mean to help them, and they will help us in return."  
"Truly? Huh, think you can help me out of these chains first?"  
"I've got this," Knuckles stepped forward, "I can punch through anything," confidently he moved up to the chains, grabbing them with one hand, pulling them tight, then driving his other fist into the frost covered metal with a wordless exclamation. The chain shattered beneath his fist, and with a grin, Knuckles did the same to the second chain.  
"Nicely done Red. Now let's get out of here before the dullards outside decide it's worth checking on that noise."  
"I'm Knuckles the Echidna," he said, jerking a thumb towards his chest,  
"Good for you Red, I'm Malachi Nihilius of the ancient trading house of Nihilius. Now let's get the frak out of here,"

They scurried back into the vent and moved deeper into the spaceport. The Rogue Trader told Xaphian that others of his order had been removed from the planet, and have gone back to their benefactor. This information seemed to please the sorcerer, and he had asked if there was a shuttle they could take to get up into orbit.  
"One, as far as I can recall anyway. Platform Sigma Beta Prime. I am not sure if they are even guarding it either. I don't think they expect anyone to be able to sneak their way through all the patrols."  
"They underestimate us, that is good," Xaphian looked even happier, "We won't be able to follow the ducts to that platform, but it does have sewer access, there are plenty of run-off points for rain water and chemical spills."

Xaphian lead them back to the deserted warehouse that they had started in and back into the sewer system. The further into the spaceport they pressed the worse the sewers smelt. Not only did they have to deal with the scent of faecal matter but also the cloying scent of chemicals and fuel. It reminded the Mobians of the areas around Robotniks headquarters.  
It took well over an hour to traverse the vast spaceport. All of them ached from the effort of crawling through the confined space, but they were safe. None of the Imperial patrols had the wit to detect them or even to monitor the ventilation ducts.  
Finally they were looking out into a huge room with the roof open to the sky above. The room itself was filled with maintenance equipment, refuelling lines and scanning equipment, all there to look after the space vessel sat within a marked zone in the centre of the room. Tails wished that he was not maimed and had the time to examine and use all the equipment in the room, but he knew they had to move fast, their luck wouldn't last forever.  
Malachi was the first out of the vent towards his ship. As he approached two gun turrets emerged out of a set of inconspicuous crates and swivelled towards him.  
"Deactivate security protocol Epsilon Magenta, negitientur in veritate et nos." Malachis voice was commanding and the turrets paused, then drooped, but did not recede. The Rogue Trader looked back towards the rest of the group clambering out of the vents. "Left them up in case we need them, they can be used manually now." Grinning he resumed his progress towards the shuttle at a jog.

Sonic scanned the room, trying to see if there were any other threats. They seemed to be alone, and aside from the vents there was only one entrance, a large set of double blast proof doors. He breathed a sigh of relief, nothing bad had happened, nobody had to die. The others had filtered up into the shuttle, however as Sonic went to join them he hear the Rogue Trader curse from inside,  
"Some thrice-cursed Tech-priest must have bypassed my security! Both the stabilisation coil and the navigation panel have been disabled."  
Sonic heard Sallys voice next, "Can it be fixed Mr. Nihilius?"  
"That would be Captain or Lord, not Mister, but really you can call me Mal. As to if it could be fixed … Possibly, but I do not have the skills."  
"I do!" Tails piped up, always eager to help.  
"As do I, these systems are similar to the ARK's consoles." Sonic was surprised to hear Shadow volunteer,  
"Then we have a chance, if you can handle the console and you can handle the undercarriage of the ship, I will start preparing the other systems," moments after Malachi had finished speaking, the twin-tailed Fox came barrelling out of the shuttle.  
"Sonic!" Tails was beaming at him, "Can you help me push one of those carts full of tools over to the shuttle? It's going to take me longer than usual to do this, and I need to save my arm strength."  
"Uh, sure." Sonic followed Tails over to his selected cart and helped him heave it over to where he wanted it, "You sure you're gonna be alright with this lil' bro?"  
"I need this Sonic. It's going to be hard, but I need to do this. Watch out for danger for me please?"  
"You got it!" Sonic gave him a thumbs up and a grin that he didn't really feel before backing up and turning back to watch the room. He could hear Shadow grumbling from inside the shuttle, clearly whatever he was doing was going to take some time to do.  
Long minutes dragged past, and just as Sonic began to think they would be in the clear the blast doors burst open. Stood in the doorway was a woman with shoulder length platinum blonde hair in form fitting jet black armour, bearing the fleur-de-lys insignia proudly displayed on her chest.  
Her eyes locked with Sonics and she began to yell at the top of her voice, a booming commanding voice that Sonic had not expected, "Daemon! Brothers! I have found the heretic! In the God-Emperors name, you shall feel His wrath!"  
Sonic backed away a step as the woman drew a massive sword that started to hum and crackle with energy, "Whoa, hey Lady, hold on a second! I don't want a fight,"  
"Speak not your lies to me Daemon! I will purge your filth from the galaxy, in His name!" She ran full speed towards Sonic, raising her sword high, preparing for a devastating slash at the end of her charge.  
Sonic just manage to recover from his surprise to get his sword up to parry. To his horror, the energy field around the womans blade met the mono blade and with a flash, snapped the blade in two.  
Sonic staggered back, reeling slightly from the force of the blow, "Wha'?"  
"Your defences are naught before His majesty. I will cast you back to the Immaterium, hellspawn," Her eyes flicked passed him to where Tails lay on his back, under the shuttle, desperately trying to bolt a loose pipe back into place one handedly, "Another! All of you will burn!"  
Fearful that she would turn her hatred upon Tails, Sonic spin-dashed over to where the gun turrets were and swung it around to face the attacker,  
"C'mon Lady, please don't make me do this,"  
"Your pleas for mercy are lost on me abomination!" She launched into another rage fuelled attack towards him. Reflexively Sonic pulled the trigger.

A stream of mass reactive shells launched themselves towards the woman. Sonic thought they were similar, but larger than the rounds that had maimed his adopted brother. The first caught the woman in her unarmoured head, the secondary detonation causing it to burst like an overripe fruit, showering the area in gore and brain matter. The rest of the rounds impacted into the torso of her armour, most just hammering harmlessly against the power field protected plates, however the last two rounds managed to bite deep, penetrating through the armour, the secondary detonations liquefying her chest and spraying viscera through her already ruined neck.  
Sonic watched it all happen in slow motion, not able to drag his eyes away from the tremendous destruction he had wrought. Not only had he killed this woman, but the unnecessary carnage was so shocking and appalling to him that he immediately doubled over to wretch up his meal of charred rat and run-off water.

An amount of time passed. Sonic couldn't tell how much time, he couldn't tell much of anything, nor could he pull his eyes away from the ruination that he had wrought. He was dimly aware of someone saying his name, and the sound of distant voices shouting.  
Someone tugged on his arm, pulling him away. Numbly he was pulled up a ramp, into an enclosed area and pushed into a seat. Vaguely aware of the vibrations through his seat he absently strapped himself in with the harness, safety first, his hands moving almost out of muscle memory.  
Sonic tried to take in the view out of the window he was next to, tried experience the wonder of leaving the orbit of a planet whilst under fire, but all he could see was a black armoured body, headless and surrounded by an expanding pool of blood.


	5. Chapter 5

Escape thrusters screamed as they worked to evade anti-aircraft fire at the same time as working to break the planet's atmosphere.

They had broken through the level of smoke and low cloud that had engulfed the spaceport and surrounding ruins. The Mobians had strained against their harnesses to look through the shuttles viewports, giving them a good view of the huge, planet covering city, a seemingly twisting mess of buildings, factories and towering spires, which Xaphian had called Hive Cities. However as soon as the city was visible to them, they were visible to the city. Attack fighters were chasing them while large las-bolts stabbed up at them from huge automated turrets. The shuttle had taken a few glancing blows, each one seeming worse than the last.

The rogue trader Malachi was insisting that as soon as they breach the atmosphere they would be safe, or at least safer than they were now.

The shuttle was vibrating with the effort it was being put under, and the Mobians were starting to feel the effects of the unfamiliar g-forces they were experiencing. Only Shadow seemed unaffected, calmly gazing out of the viewport to the rapidly darkening sky. It was hard to say if Sonic was affected, he seemed to still be catatonic from the trauma he had suffered. Perhaps it is better this way, Sally had thought between the moments of stress and nausea.

At last, the fighters peeled off and the turrets stopped firing just as the sky disappeared in a wash of flame that lasted seconds before they were left with the star-strewn blackness of space.

Looking around Sally saw the husks of massive, destroyed starships. They were long, narrow craft with crenulations and arches like gothic cathedrals, the prows were huge wedged rams painted a high gloss red against the black of the rest of the ships. The sides of the vessel closest to them had huge cannons, each the size of the shuttle that they were currently on. The whole ship was probably the size of Robotropolis. Sally knew the ship was dead though, half of the side of it was torn open and the rest of it was pockmarked with battle damage. It hung there, listless and unresponsive to anything going on around it.

Looking through the view ports of the other side she saw other ships, most of which were also destroyed. Some had even been torn apart by internal explosions, leaving nothing more than chunks of debris in the impression of what must have once been a mighty vessel. There were some ships still active however, and were engaged against each other, slowly moving in the black of space, turning about and firing its payloads against the other ship. It was almost peaceful and beautiful to watch, and elegant dance of death.

Malachi manoeuvred the shuttle through the debris, staying close to mask their presence not wanting to get tied up in the ongoing space battle. The shuttle was headed towards the planet's moon, a blue-grey rock, pockmarked with impact craters and a massive installation in the shape of an eight-pointed star, visible even from this distance away. The lights, or possibly fires, glimmering out of the brown-black installation made it look like a charred brand in the crust of the moon, with lava oozing out of the cracked mark.

The transit had calmed now they were no longer fighting gravity or dodging lethal shots. Sally unclipped her harness and crossed the brushed metal deck of the shuttle up to the open cockpit door. Inside she saw Malachi working the complex array of controls; a cable ran from a port in the console into a socket that had been previously hidden under the Rogue Traders hair. Sally recoiled at this, thinking of Robotnik's roboticization.

"What's the matter lass? Never seen an MIU before?" The Rogue Trader chuckled.

"I … No. I am sorry Malachi, where I come from being integrated with mechanical parts, especially around the brain, carries a lot of negativity," Sally confessed,

"Don't worry about it. I am sure I understand the principle of your worries, but as I say, don't worry. This is an MIU, a Mind Interface Unit. Think of it like a tiny version of your wrist-mounted Data Slate, but with a facility to connect to other consoles. It means I can work more machinery with my mind while my hands are occupied, and read more data than my eyes could process. Very handy for trying to smuggle you out of here."

"That does indeed sound useful." Sally paused before continuing, "It will take a little while to get used to it. Thank you for explaining it to me Malachi,"

"You're welcome. How's your blue friend? Has he not seen much fighting?"

"I am worried about Sonic. He has seen plenty of fighting, but all our opponents were robotic, he has never liked the idea of actually killing someone, and I must say the weapons of this reality do seem to be … excessive."

"You've not seen the half of it girl. That was just a heavy bolter. Sure bolt rounds are nasty, but the armour you'll find people in is as excessive as the weaponry. Power has to exceed defence in some way, or there would be no point in fighting. You can't rely on having the strength of numbers for small arms fire to make that eventual dent all the time."

"Yes, I can understand that. However, you need to appreciate our position Malachi. You were born into this, whereas we have never had to even consider that one shot could turn someone into some form of grizzly fountain."

"Aye lass, I do appreciate it. I've witnessed that and greater horrors unexpectedly, and I know those things can unhinge a man. We've got to keep him in the game though. If his minds gone, his body'll follow, and he'll be use to no one. Help him with what you can now, and once we're on board the ship, we can get the medicae to sort him out,"

"Thank you Malachi, I will do what I can."

Sally went to Sonic and sat in the seat next to him, Tails had vacated it to look out of the view ports.

"Sonic," Sally rested a hand on his leg, but the only reaction she gained was a faint muscle twitch. She wondered if he could hear her, "Sonic, we are out, free. What you did, saved us, saved Tails. I know it was shocking, but you can get through this, we have been through worse together. That's just it, we need you here so we can continue together."

She put her arms around him and hugged him close, but Sonic did not move. Sally looked up into his face and saw tears forming in his eyes. She watched a tear break and run down his unmoving face. As she lowered her head and sighed, continuing to hold him tightly, Sonic shifted for the first time and whispered so quietly she nearly missed it.

"I can't do it Sal,"

Sally looked back up at him, "Yes you can Sonic. You are a hero, and you are brave. I know you hate this, and it scares you, and that is a good thing. It shows that you are not a monster, only that you do what you must to protect your own."

Sonic, blinked, working free unshed tears, and frowned.

"All I can see is how that woman burst … knowing I pulled the trigger,"

"I know. I know it haunts you, I can feel that tension in you Sonic. Look past that, look at me, look at Tails. We are here still because you did pull that trigger. I know that will not make it easier, but it does give it purpose."

"Yeah … Yeah," Sonic nodded slowly, gradually becoming more animated. Not his usual self, but away from the traumatised husk that he had been, "I … thanks Sal. I think … I think I'll get there …" His arms came up, finally returning her hug. Sally smiled at him.

"Good. I'm proud of you Sonic. I know you can do it."

Sonic returned her smile with a small wan one of his own, then he fumbled with his harness, slipping out of it and made to stand.

"I think I need to move, don't think I've ever been this still, even when asleep." Sonic tried for a grin but didn't quite make it, though Sally seemed to appreciate the effort at good humour.

Seeing Sonic stand made Tails squeak with delight, and he rushed over to give his adopted brother a hug. It wasn't Tail's eyes that Sonic met first however, Shadow had turned from the view port and caught Sonics eye. Shadow only gave a curt nod to Sonic before he turned back to the view of the shrinking planet, but Sonic had seen in his eyes acknowledgement and understanding, and perhaps even a measure of respect. That touched Sonic almost as much as the enthusiastic one armed embrace of his little brother.

Sally's attention was drawn away from Sonics reintegration by the conversation in the cockpit,

"We're coming up to visual range of the obscured side of the moon,"

"Aye lad, that's where the ship is waiting. We should be about to see it. Ah there we are,"

After a pause Xaphian spoke up, surprised, "That's a Legion ship!"

"It is, aye. 'Parently that cult of yours was planned by them. An insurrection force designed to learn some secrets while it was there. You're it Xaph, you've got those secrets that they want."

"So why didn't they come and get me and the others?"

"So far as I can tell, they want the Imperium to think they have won."

"The only reason I got off the planet is the help of the warp touched anthromorphs we have with us,"

"What is it you Tzeentchians say? 'Just as planned'," This caused Xaphian to chuckle.

Sally looked through the door to the cockpit and out through the viewport at the titanic vessel hiding close to the moon. The vessel looked like the head of a trident, the central tine making up the major body of the vessel, with the adjacent smaller tines bristling with massive cannons. Atop the central tine there seemed to be a vast city made of tall spires and huge gothic cathedrals displaying eight pointed stars and other symbology that seemed hard to look at. The entire hull of the vessel was painted in a dark crimson covered with flowing golden script in a language Sally could not read, but when she tried it felt both comforting and disturbing.

"Who is it that owns that ship?"

Sally's voice caused Xaphian to turn to look at her, "The Word Bearers, the Seventeenth Legion and sons of the Primarch Lorgar Aurelian, the most knowledgeable of the ways of Chaos and first to discover the true nature of the Emperor of Mankind."

"And these Word Bearers want to help us?"

"It would appear that way. Mal, who commands the vessel?"

"Erebus."

"The Hand of Destiny? Really? He came for me himself?" Xaphian sounded both shocked and amazed,

"Xaphian who is Erebus?" Sally asked, wondering how someone could cause such a reaction,

"He is one of the Dark Apostles of the Word Bearers, possibly the most important of their Dark Council. That's their leadership. It was he who first discovered that there were real Gods in the Galaxy, and brought them to the attention of his Primarch more than ten thousand years ago."

"Ten Thousand? Can someone possibly live so long?"

"Space Marines can, I don't believe I know of any that have succumbed to old age. They are functionally immortal, and their only release from duty is death in battle." Xaphian grinned at Sally's shocked expression, "It is possible he may even be older than ten thousand years. He has spent a lot of time in the Warp, time sometimes flows slower or faster there depending on its fluctuations."

"It will be fascinating to speak to one such as him."

"I don't know if you'll have much opportunity to have conversation with him. Someone of his might and justified arrogance does not tend to have much time to sit and talk with the likes of us. However, who knows, we might take his interest beyond an initial audience. There will be others I am sure you will find interesting aboard however. Speaking of which, you should return to your friends and get them ready for landing, we will be docking soon."

The shuttle progressed on its course towards the Word Bearer ship. When they were close Tails imagined that they would look like a minnow next to a leviathan if viewed from the outside. The idea amused him as he took in the details of the vast ship, wondering at the complex designs and engineered features of the space vessel.

The open bay that Malachi navigated the shuttle into was so big Tails thought they would be able to fit more than half of Knothole into it. The opening into space seemed to be protected by some sort of magnetic shielding which shimmered as they passed through it. Tails could see this bay was accustomed to dealing with smaller craft, the walls were arrayed with maintenance tools and refuelling lines, but what really drew his eye were the eleven armoured giants waiting for them.

The shuttle set down and after a few moments Malachi released the locking clamps on the internal doors and lowered the ramps, letting the group of Humans and Mobians out onto the deck. Before them were the eleven giants, armoured in dark crimson and adorned in flowing golden script, talismans depicting eight-pointed stars, and a few had thin cured leather riveted to their shoulder pads daubed with rougher, darker script. The leader giant was stranger, twisted and bestial. It looked almost like his flesh had merged with his armour, thickening and engorging his arms with muscles made of the same material the armour was. Sprouting from his once noble face was a pair of mismatched horns, and his mouth was filled with sharp, jagged teeth. His appearance was frightening, but in some strange way, the Mobians found it also somewhat comforting. Sonic and Shadow could feel the intensity of Chaos energy pulsing from the leader, both knowing that that level of energy would put them into a super form, clearly this individual was both powerful and dangerous. They were both thankful he seemed to be on their side.

The leader spread his arms and spoke, his voice was double-edged, as if two voices spoke as one, the first was surprisingly light and cultured, like the voice of a kindly priest, but the second was deep and guttural, a rumble like the moving of mountains,

" ** _Ah, Malachi, you return to us with our prize, and with others too, just as the Apostle knew you would._** "

The Rogue Trader shifted uneasily but made a sweeping bow, staying low as he spoke back,

"M'lord Varbok, what do we owe the pleasure of the presence of the Dark Martyr of the Vakrah Jal?"

The twisted giant grinned, giving an even more sinister slant to his visage, "S _ **hould we not honour you, Malachi? You were the instrument that lead our victory from the jaws of defeat. In the face of the Inquisition no less.**_ "

"Y'words swell my pride Lord, but I cannot let my ego get the better of me. I jus' did my duty, and I am pleased to serve the Word."

" _ **Just as it should be. Your new friends are of interest to Erebus. He saw their coming through the currents of the blessed Immaterium. They are dangerous, oh yes, for they are suffused with the same potency of the Neverborn, but blessed with physical form, not unlike the original Gal Vorbak, and yet still unique. The Hand of Destiny will meet with them.**_ "

It was Sally's turn to speak up "Greetings Varbok, I am Princess Sally Acorn, and I speak for my friends here. I can appreciate this Erebus is important, as are you, given how Malachi addresses you, but we know very little of this realm. I am surprised that you see us as dangerous, from what we have seen of the weaponry of this universe, I feel quite frail in comparison. Whatever could your Dark Apostle want with us?"

Varboks features twisted further as his grin widened. The sinister smile seemed to take up half of his face, all of his sharp teeth were on display. Sally was reminded of a shark,

" _ **You are blessed with the powers of Chaos, Sally Acorn. Perhaps your people have forgotten the Word of the Gods of the Warp, but their touch still lingers. Your souls are their children and your flesh conduits for their power, but you belong on the other side of the veil. Erebus wants to help return you, and in return, we will learn from you. Erebus believes what we can gain from you will turn the tide against the Corpse-Emperor and finally unite humanity. So you will come with us.**_ "

"And if we refuse?" Shadows gruff voice cut across the hanger.

Varboks grin widened even further, " _ **Do you have a choice? You are on our ship, and you have no way to leave or return home. You need us, and we have use of you, it is logical, we are both scions of Chaos, we should work together. However, if you really want to pointlessly struggle, we can force you.**_ "

"That will not be necessary," Sally cut in sharply before Shadow could respond to the threat, "You are right, we need your assistance. Even though you and your ways are strange to us, I am confident we will get used to it and we will become friends," She looked pointedly at Shadow, who narrowed his eyes but slowly nodded warily.

" _ **Good.**_ " Varbok spread his arms in an exaggerated welcoming gesture, " _ **You and your kind may follow me to my Lord Erebus. Malachi, show our Sorcerous friend to the lower decks. The Seer will recover the information Erebus requires, once that is done settle him into quarters with the rest of the cults.**_ "

"Xaphian won't be coming with us?" It was Tail's turn to speak up in front of the super-humans, "Without him, we wouldn't be here!"

" _ **And he shall be rewarded for that. I am sure if he continues to be important to you, you will see him again. The tides of fate do seem to draw people together. Now come, follow me.**_ "

With that cryptic answer, Varbok turned and walked towards the bulkhead doors that lead into the interior of the ship, followed by the other armoured giants.

"You best go with him," Xaphain said, before smiling at Tails, "I will be fine."

Reassured the Mobians hurried after the hulking form of Varbok.

Once past the bulkhead doors, the Mobians found themselves in a long metal corridor lit with dim red light. The corridor seemed to go on forever in either direction, the dim light giving impressions of the occasional door on each side. Large ducting pipes and electrical cables ran along the ceiling four meters above them, the veins and arteries of the space leviathan they were inside. The faint hum of the ships powered machinery was nearly drowned out by the sound of thousands of voices chanting hymnals and prayers in a language none of them understood. The chanting combined with the heady combination of various machinery oils and incense made them think they were in a vast mechanical cathedral.

"Varbok, what are the chants about?" Sally asked, always keen to learn more about her surroundings,

" _ **They are the singing the Word of Lorgar, our Primarch. It is the Truth that he discovered about the universe and about Chaos. Once you have met with Lord Erebus, I am certain there will be an opportunity to learn a translation.**_ "

They passed groups of robed humans as they followed the Space Marines. Some looked normal, others we rougher, twisted, like an artist's impression of a human that they had only heard about but never actually seen. Some seemed partially roboticized, with extra mechanical limbs that puffed smoke or had large grabbing claws on. Occasionally they would pass creatures that were much more bestial, a bipedal bull-like creature with a sword that looked like molten brass, a blue feathered avian creature with rainbow coloured wings carrying a gnarled staff, and a tiny bulbous green imp-like creature that was sat atop a wall mounted corridor light. The imp creature waved jovially to them as they passed before it went back to eating the unidentifiable meal it had obtained. Most of the Mobians took in their surroundings with cautious interest, getting to grips with their unfamiliar surroundings and dim light. Sonic, however, withdrew more into himself again. Something felt wrong to him, and the potent smells of incense were starting to make his eyes water, and the constant throb of chanting was giving him a headache.

The corridor widened into a large open thoroughfare lined with battle stained banners and large monuments to battlefield glory. There were taxidermied creatures, suits of war-torn armour, chunks of intricate masonry, strange resonant crystals and grizzly severed heads. There were other things, whispering swords, glowing symbols or strange and arcane scripts, and repeating devices that bore the same four sigils that they had seen on the various robed figures and Space Marines as they had passed them, these were all alongside the eight-pointed star that seemed to unite the different parts together.

To the Mobians, these monuments and relics all seemed to be disturbing, awe-inspiring, fearful and exalting, all at once. The seemingly conflicting emotions served only to confuse them until Sally spoke up,

"Vorbak, I … I don't think I understand these things that we are a looking at … they all seem …"

" _ **Glorious and terrible?**_ " the dual voice seemed to be both mournful and amused as the twisted Space Marine looked down at her,

"Yes, though I don't wish to insult you or your people, I am just confused,"

" _ **Then let me enlighten you. You feel the power of the Chaos Gods infused in these trophies. All of these items are reminders of battles won against those under the thrall of the Emperor. The power of the Gods is as dangerous as the greatest weapon, thus it inspires fear and awe. Such weapons demand respect, especially these ones, as they think and feel similarly to us. That is what you feel. I am sure you can appreciate such weapons in a civil war such as ours, something that you could use in your own war.**_ "

Sally paused for a moment, "How do you know of our war?"

Vorbak grinned and spread his arms expansively " _ **Your sorcerous friend has given his report, and I can see it in the feed my armour provides. In addition, the Gods have granted me unique perceptions. I am good at reading mortals, and war is all about you. I also sense that such perceptions could also be within your grasp Princess Acorn.**_ "

"I don't know what you mean by that Vorbak, but perhaps I will in time. I do feel I must be cautious for now, but your explanation is welcome."

" _ **I can see why Lord Erebus is interested in you. Come, we must not keep him waiting.**_ "

Soon they were ushered into a dark amphitheatre lit only with red light. In the arches around them, there were impressions of armoured figures looking down upon a central dais. Upon the dais was a huge ornate lectern, the front of which was fashioned into an eight-pointed star, each arm of the star a different length. The sides were of black marble inlaid with flowing golden script.

Behind the lectern stood another armoured giant, lights in the hood of his armour illuminated his face. Noble, patrician features were revealed, though notable scars were visible beneath tattoos. The same flowing golden scripts the saw on the lectern covered every inch of his face, including the eyelids, which they saw when he blinked.

" _ **Erebus, Dark Apostle, Son of Lorgar, Lord of the Word Bearers, I present to you the Warp Touched that prophecy foretold. Their leader, Sally Acorn, her followers Sonic, Shadow, Tails and Knuckles.**_ "

Erebus smiled, though it twisted his scared face awkwardly, serving only to make his patrician features look cruel.

"Welcome, sons and daughters of Mobius, to my council chambers"

Sally stepped forward, "Thank you Erebus, do you know of Mobius?"

"Not from personal experience, but the Gods whisper much to me. I know of your homeworld on the other side of the veil. I know of its zones and of its wars. I know of the fracture of your world and where they have been scattered in this galaxy. I know of your Emeralds of Chaos power, and of the machine-loving war leader who is your enemy. I know how to send you home and how to stitch your world back together." Erebus voice was sly and knowing, Shadow did not trust it.

"Hmph. And what is your price? You talk well, but you know more than you say." Shadow folded his arms staring at the Dark Apostle,

"Well Shadow of the ARK, of course there is a price, but it is one you will pay. Your Robotnik created another Chaos Emerald. A fulgurite of overwhelming Chaos power. Your world was imbalanced by it and was cast into the Warp. What I want is that artefact of power, should you keep it, it will destroy your world, but without it, you cannot return home,"

"Your price seems fair Erebus," Sally said, "But how can we find the Emeralds? A Galaxy is a large place and I don't think even Knuckles innate senses can track that far," Knuckles shook his head quietly,

"I will give you a ship, a crew and access to training in the ways of Chaos. I know you all have abilities you have yet to unlock. It would be a delight to have you gain the gifts of the Gods."

"You will not come with us?"

"Ah Princess Acorn, I have a war to prosecute and the Word to spread, our paths must diverge until you return with all eight emeralds."

Sally nodded slowly, "I understand, you need to look to your own, but we do appreciate your help. May I request that you let us take Xaphian the Sorcerer with us? He is familiar now and would help with our transition into this galaxy."

"You may take the sorcerer. I have no doubt his wisdom will be beneficial to you."

"Then thank you Erebus. We will find the Emeralds and give to you the fake one."

Erebus smiled again, it made Tails shiver as he thought it looked sinister. "Good. Vorbak, take them back to the shuttle and send them on their way to their new temporary home."

Vorbak bowed, " _ **As you command Dark Apostle.**_ "

XXXX

Robotnik watched the Explorator examine the schematics he had laid before him. He carefully took in where the Tech Priests movements were clunky and stiff and where they were inhumanly swift, dependant on the cybernetic enhancements they were relying on. It would be too easy to rid himself of this fellow mechanical genius and then usurp his command. He weak points were obvious to him, and a casual insertion of a tool in the right place would sever the connection of the Explorators brain to the rest of his systems effectively killing him instantly while allowing the Explorator a futile few seconds to consider his betrayal and death. It would be elegant and efficient, but disposing of the body would be hard, and any questions about the Explorators death would also be hard to counter. Not impossible, the people of this universe we too superstitious and easily manipulated until you reached the upper echelons of command, and the Inquisition, that is where the trouble would come.

No, it was better to wait, arrange an accident and then assume control, which would gain him the maximum power he desired. It may also allow him to milk a few items of knowledge and direction from this gullible fool.

Explorator Magnitron had begun to emit a high pitched noise that Robotnik judged to be excitement, so much for removing emotions. Robotnik began to reflect on his time as a child first discovering his prowess with machines and his excitement when Sir Charles had invented the roboticizer, but that moment of reflection shattered when the Explorator began to speak.

"Processing … Magos Robotnik! These Standard Templates are incredible. The unique nature of your Battle Automata and their tactical generation process to simulate random natures and thus confuse the enemy has such wonderful application. Your enhanced servitization process has so many practical efficiencies. Utilising the electromagnetic output of the biological components housed within the armoured shell to power the servitor would reduce the weight of the servitor, no longer needing power cells, and reduce maintenance times. This would allow for increased utility for housing tools or additional weapons or ammunition. I can see these STC's combining well with the technology lost to Designate: Mobius. Imagine these automata with access to melta, plasma or haywire weapons. They would be virtually unstoppable."

Robotnik smiled, "I knew you would see their potential. I knew you could be trusted with Mobius's greatest secrets. Surely we will bring glory to the Omnissiah with these machines." Though in his head Robotnik was thinking, "Fool, please keep giving me tools to betray you. Even Snively is not as incompetent as you."

"Your trust was not misplaced Magos Robotnik, we will find your missing power sources and with them and these STC's we will destroy the servants of the arch-enemy that beleaguer your world."

"That is just what I wanted to hear. Shall we discuss how exactly we will find my power sources?"

This time the Hedgehog would not stand a chance.


End file.
